Caring for you
by vanyelashke89
Summary: Kakashi is injured in a mission and Iruka was tasked to take care of him. Meanwhile, Orochimaru and Kabuto are plotting to capture Kakashi in a plot that involves the Sharingan. [KakaIru]
1. A misson gone wrong

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any Naruto characters...

**Chapter One**

Hatake Kakashi moved between the shadows. His sole purpose was the scroll hidden in the depths of this house. Every now and then, Kakashi paused and used his Sharingan to scan the surroundings for any hidden ninjas. Even though this was merely a C mission, there was no harm in being extra careful.

Nothing so far.

The scroll was in the room at the far end of the corridor. After one last check, Kakashi entered the room.

The scroll sat in the middle of the table.

"Easy… Any Chuunin could have done this task." Kakashi remarked to himself as he pocketed the scroll.

_Why had Tsunade been so insistent on me taking on this mission? _

Kakashi started towards the exit.

And was confronted by 4 masked ninjas.

_Shit! How did they get past the Sharingan?_ Kakashi sprang into a defense position, assessing the situation he had gotten in.

"He's got the scroll already" one of the masked ninjas remarked.

"Well, at least the Genjutsu worked on him"

"Get the scroll back at all costs. And I want his Sharingan" The leader of the team growled.

_Genjutsu? Unless they had used it on me right from the start?_ Kakashi mentally kicked himself for his carelessness as his hand gripped tighter on his kunais.

_Four against one. And I have no idea how skilled these guys are. And, judging from the fact that this is a trap, they would have assistance behind. _

The situation became less and less favorable.

_BUT… I am Hatake Kakashi. I wouldn't fail a mission so easily!_

With a low cry, Kakashi lunged himself at the attackers.

"Go!" The leader of the masked ninjas cried.

A long bloody battle ensued.

* * *

A bloodied hand clutched at the scroll. More blood dripped onto the ground. Hatake Kakashi surveyed his damaged self as he stumbled onto the street, vomiting blood. 

The four ninjas had been skilled. It was sheer luck that he had managed to hold them at bay. And then assistance had arrived. Kakashi was outnumbered 20 to 1.

Kakashi recalled the thrill in him as he fought alongside death. The adrenaline rush, the chilling sound as metal fought metal. The blood and the anguish cry as the enemy fell. There was the taste of blood in his mouth and blood everywhere. On his hands, his bland, his clothes… Everywhere.

Cold, calculated and careful, Kakashi had defeated the enemy and managed to escape with the scroll. But the masked ninjas were highly skilled and the wounds he suffered were more then minor. Kakashi swore as he felt the world spinning before him.

_Got to hang on a while longer… _

Kakashi summoned up the last of his charka that he didn't know existed and called out Pakkun using Kuchiyose no Jutsu. With the last of his stamina gone, the great Hatake Kakashi, copy-cat Ninja, fainted.

* * *

Blood… there was so much blood. 

It stained his hands. He couldn't get it off.

At 10, young Kakashi had killed his first man.

Kakashi sat on the rooftop, staring blankly. He ignored the presence of Jiraiya who had settled himself down beside him.

"Want to talk?" Jiraiya looked into his young chuuin's eyes for some signs of reaction. There were none. He inwardly cursed. He should have talked Yondaime out of letting Kakashi take on the B mission. Hell, he blamed himself for letting this young boy become a chuunin at such a young age…

"I… I killed someone tonight".

Silence hung around like it had nothing better to do. After some time, seeing that nothing was going to happen, it left.

"It should never be easy to take a life. Killing should never be callously done. I often thought it ironic. Ninjas protect the ones they love. Yet to do that, they inevitably must kill. Whatever it is, no one really knows what is right or what is wrong Kakashi… and all I will say is that Konoha sleeps a little more soundly tonight because of what you've done".

It wasn't the answer the 10 year old Kakashi quite liked. Nor did he quite understand it. But he accepted and knew that from the moment he became a ninja, he would be a killer. A killer so as to be a protector for the ones he loved…

* * *

Kakashi awoke to the smells of disinfectants, soft murmurs and a splitting headache. And oh yes, the pain. 

Blood.

The scroll!

Kakashi bolted upright. Or at least he tried to before he was sent reeling back, assaulted by a wave of sharp pain that robbed him of his breath.

"Oh, you're awake" A falsely cheerful Tsunade remarked.

"Now, now Kakashi, I sent you on a simple mission and you had to get into trouble. Two broken ribs, one bleeding head wound, one punctured stomach and torn muscles and ligament. Really Kakashi, are you getting old or something? I spent two whole days healing you! Two whole days! As if being Hokage is not busy enough for me"

Wincing, Kakashi summoned a weak grin.

"Don't give me that cute face! I won't be appeased by that."

"Hey!" Kakashi croaked. "You told me it was a C mission. How tough could it get?"

"A B mission! BBB! Argh! You will be the death of me someday."

"Maaa.. I guess I wasn't paying attention at that time. But those attackers were not ordinary ninjas. They were skilled warriors. This should have been classified an A mission". Kakashi's eyes narrowed on Tsunade's guilty expression.

"Well, I admit it was tougher then it seems. Since I've gotten you in this scrape, I guess you should know what is going on." Tsunade got up and paced the small room.

"The scroll you obtained contains many jutsus that are banned in Konoha. They also happen to be highly dangerous and destructive. Luckily, not many people know about it. I couldn't classify this mission too highly or it will arouse suspicions. Why then did you think I sent you? The tensai ninja?" A soft smile lingered on her face as she gazed at Kakashi. Kakashi thought he glimpsed affection and sorrow in Tsunade's eyes. But it was gone in a flash.

"I see… Oh wells, I'm alright now aren't I?" Kakashi grinned.

"Hmpf. Far from it. You're likely to remain immobile for the next few weeks and I want you to rest for the next one and a half months. And I've got just the perfect person to look after you…"

"Oh Really? You've gotten me a hot babe?"

"No you twit! I've entrusted you in Iruka's care. Since I often see Iruka at the academy, he can readily inform me of your recovery. Plus, he lives alone and he knows a little bit of doctoring…"

As Tsunade's voice droned on, Kakashi pondered over his assigned "guardian" for the next month or so.

_Iruka… Umino Iruka. Naruto's Chuunin teacher at the academy. Naruto often speaks of him… _

Kakashi knew Iruka as a quiet, studious teacher, although strangely protective of his students. He recalled Iruka's outrage protest against Team 7's participation in the Chuunin exam. Iruka was ready to fight the tensai Jounin when Sandaime had intervened. Iruka was well liked by his colleagues and also his students. He was forever cheerful, with a wide smile on his face. And yet… Kakashi seem to glimpse something beneath that bubbly exterior… Something more…

_But Iruka is a chuunin for heavens' sakes! I don't need a chuunin to coddle me!_

Kakashi scowled as he pondered over how he would give Iruka a hard time… Thinking… he promptly fell asleep.

Tsunade smiled softly to herself.

_I'm sorry Kakashi for getting you in this scrape. But I knew that if there was someone who could come out of this alive… it would be you. Thank you dear boy…

* * *

_


	2. An unexpected patient

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto…

Thank you for the reviews! Greatly appreciate the time you took to write them :)

**Chapter 2**

A confused Kakashi awoke to an unfamiliar room. Sky blue ceilings and pastel yellow walls greeted him. Sunlight peeked in from the small window on his right. It was a small room, clean, simply furnished and neat. Yes neat, totally unlike Kakashi's own messy apartment.

The last thing Kakashi remembered was Tsunade forcing him to be looked after by Umino Iruka.

_This sure doesn't look like a hospital. So they whisked me off to Iruka's apartment while I was asleep huh? _

A scowl played across his face. It had been a long time since he had slept so soundly that he lost all awareness of his surroundings. Kakashi did not like feeling defenseless, it made him vulnerable.

A low rumbling in his stomach reminded him that he had neglected it for a long time.

_Damn… now where is that Iruka? Isn't he supposed to play nurse and meet my every need?_

* * *

A disgruntled Iruka was currently making breakfast in the kitchen. Muttering strings of curses under his breath, he recalled the conversation he had with the Hokage just this morning, a mere two hours ago.

* * *

Iruka was an early riser. He felt as a teacher at the academy, he was duty-bound to wake up before everyone else and arrive just as the gate to the academy opened. 

He had just finished his morning rituals when he heard a knock on his door.

To his surprise, Tsunade stood at the doorway, with a bright smile on her face. Without waiting for an invitation, she unceremoniously swept into his house.

"Morning Iruka, Now this may seem a little abrupt to you so I suggest you sit down for a while" Tsunade motioned a bewildered Iruka to sit.

"I'm sure you would have heard by now that Hatake Kakashi had been badly injured during his mission."

Only someone as perceptive as Tsunade would have noticed Iruka clench his fists involuntary.

"I've heard, he should be alright, shouldn't he? I mean… he's one of Konoha's most skilled warriors…"

"Oh, don't worry, he's alright now. Well, I should just cut straight to the point. You, Iruka are going to take care of Kakashi in the period that he is still recovering and are to report his progress to me."

_Huh?_

_HUH? _

_HUH? HUH? HUH? WHY ME!_

Almost as if she could read minds, Tsunade answered Iruka's unspoken question. "Because I get to see you everyday so you could report to me. Because you live alone and have a spare room for Kakashi. Because I trust you and I know you are the right person for this. And oh yes, I've taken the liberty to moved your early morning lessons to later so that you would have time to settle Kakashi in before you leave."

"But…"

"Alright, if there isn't anything else, I'll be going. See you at the academy in awhile." With that, Tsunade swept out of the apartment, leaving a dumbfounded Iruka, staring in horror as two ANBU carried a soundly asleep Kakashi into his spare room.

Iruka felt as if his whole world was turned upside down. But as reality sank in bit by bit, Iruka knew that there was no escaping this.

_Hatake Kakashi. He's the most unsettling person I've met. Somehow, it seems as if he's always trying to throw me off guard. _

For this reason, Iruka tried to avoid Kakashi as much as possible. He still remembered the incident when he had questioned Kakashi's authority when he had nominated Team 7 for the chuunin exam. Iruka had gone cold then. He forgot that he was only a chuunin and did not have the right to question higher jounins. He forgot that Hokage-sama was present. He forgot everything except the fear that he would lose the ones he tried so hard to protect again.

Iruka had lashed out at Kakashi. Kakashi had merely given him chillingly cold answers that had shocked Iruka to the bone. And yet... and yet, somehow deep inside, Iruka knew that Kakashi did not entirely mean what he said. He knew Kakashi value his team more then just mere shinobi, tools for his use.

_Ah, no point dwelling in this now. Better hurry and prepare breakfast before the patient awakes. _

Humming a soft tune, Iruka deftly flipped a few pancakes, all signs of displeasure gone.

He was interrupted by an annoyed shout coming from the guest room. "Oi! Iruka-sensei! Where the hell are you? I want my breakfast!"

Sighing, Iruka cleaned his hand on the towel before pasting a bright smile on his face, all set to tackle the impossible Kakashi.

* * *

Sorry the chapter is so short! Having a little trouble trying to define Kakashi's and Iruka's character, especially what they think about each other. wistful sighs how I love iruka and kakashi! 


	3. Breakfast!

**Sokra**: thx for the help! i've enabled anonymous ppl to review )  
**ruka-kun**: glad you like the story n thx for reviewing all 3 chaps!  
**eyes0nme19**: you've got 2 chaps to read now!  
**Mourning-kun**: thx for the encouragement!  
**Yit-ha**: nope. there won't be any Iruka bashing thing... Kakashi's too nice for that!  
**Zeri**: Glad you like the story )  
**Zezura**: i will continue it.. bye and see you soon!  
**Pink Raine**: no problem. hope you enjoyed ur pizza! )

Thank you all for reviewing! It's a huge encouragement to know that you enjoy reading it. :) To know more, read on and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

**

* * *

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**Chapter 3**

"Ohiyo, Kakashi-sensei" Iruka smiled as he set the tray beside the bed and took a look at the annoyed Kakashi.

"Ohiyo, Iruka-sensei. Oi, is that my breakfast?" Kakashi raised his head to deliver Iruka with an annoyed scowl.

Neither could tear away their gaze. Both continued to stare, drinking in the sight of each other like cool spring water on a parched throat.

Iruka took in the bandages that covered Kakashi. The top half of his body was covered with bandages. But Iruka could still discern the muscles on his torso, his arms...

_My my, Kakashi had one killer of a body..._

Iruka's eyes traveled lower to where the small nest of silver hair ended with a slight V. Kakashi was in boxer shorts, and his legs were likewise, heavily bandaged. That did not stop Iruka from admiring Kakashi's well defined muscles though. Iruka blushed.

His eyes hastily averted to look into Kakashi's dark eyes. Bandages covered not only Kakashi's head, but also the Sharingan eye as well. The stubborn mop of silver hair was tousled, messy but still sticking upright. Iruka resisted the urge to run his hands through that hair, to comb it with his fingers…

_Kakashi was without his mask! _Iruka absorbed the information with both surprise and glee. _Finally I get to see what the great Kakashi looks like!_

High cheekbones, a firm jaw and a stubborn chin graced his face. The only imperfection was the slightly broken nose that looked as if it had seen a lot of mighty fists.

Kakashi's face couldn't be called beautiful, but it was attractive. And Iruka found it unsettlingly attractive.

Kakashi could tell that Iruka was shocked at having seen him unmasked and he gave a smug grin.

He hadn't plan for it to happen. But just as well since they'll be seeing a lot of each other for the next few weeks. Wearing the mask 24/7 will be very uncomfortable instead.

Looking up at Iruka with his mouth still wide open, Kakashi thought: _I just bet that he's going to say "Kakashi, you're a devilish handsome fellow" next. _

Iruka had a pleasing face, not dashingly handsome but passable, normal, some would say. And so, it was very strange that Kakashi couldn't help noticing the stray strands of hair that had managed to escape from Iruka's ponytail. He wanted to push them back where they belonged. He wanted to lean forward and kiss that open mouth closed...

_What an irrational though Kakashi! You've barely known Iruka and now you're having pervetic thoughts about him!_

Perhaps it was his dark eyes that seem to swallow you up with their expressions. At this moment, though, the eyes were filled with anguish.

_Huh But why? Shouldn't they be filled with admiration of my great face?_

"Oh Kakashi-sensei, how on earth did you get yourself hurt so badly?" Iruka's voice was sympathetic.

For a moment, Kakashi was stunned. He didn't expect Iruka, a chuuin he had always despised to express concern for him.

"Ah.. eh haha, I was careless. But don't mind, I'll be up and away in a few weeks." With that, he gave a cheerful smile. "Now, now, if you don't mind, I'll like my breakfast please."

Kakashi then tried to push himself up into a sitting position.

_Damn! I'm weak as a new born kitten_

He slumped back, angered at his helplessness. Never had he been hurt so badly before. Never had he needed to depend on someone else. Depending on others made him weak. And only the strong survived in this world. Only the strong could protect the ones they loved.

Kakashi was angry. How was he going to protect others if he was so weak? He struggled again.

Iruka, noticing his distress, came forward to help him.

A hand knocked him back with considerable strength. "I don't need your help, _sensei_! I thought you had classes to teach? Just leave me alone to take care of myself!" Kakashi retorted back angrily.

Surprise at the sudden change in Kakashi, Iruka hastily took a step back.

His eyes softened when they saw the caged expression in Kakashi's eyes. "Look, my orders from Tsunade were to take good care of you, so I can't leave until I've made sure that you've eaten and you're comfortable. So if you don't want me to be late for my lessons, you'd better cooperate with me." His voice was soothing and while saying so, he proceeded to sit Kakashi up.

This time, Kakashi allowed himself to be assisted. Iruka placed the breakfast tray on his lap and began cutting the pancakes up into small portions.

"I don't need a _lowly _chuunin to help me eat." Kakashi growled at Iruka, an ugly expression on his otherwise attractive face.

Undeterred, Iruka went on cheerfully, "Now, now, stop acting like a little kid. Maybe when you've recovered your strength you can challenge me, jounin to chuunin, but for now, you're to listen to what I say and eat your breakfast."

Kakashi sighed inwardly at this man's persistence. He grudgingly accepted the food that Iruka fed him with, despairing at his quivering hand that couldn't even hold the fork for a few minutes.

Iruka's cheerful demeanor calmed him a little and he knew that this compassionate chuuin was no harm to him. Kakashi felt somewhat like a jerk. Iruka had not given one whit about the insults he had thrown him and had treated him with more care then he deserved.

Little did he know how badly his comments had stung Iruka.

_Kakashi's right, I'm just a chuunin, a lowly teacher at the academy. No spectacular skills, no amazing blood lines. Hell, sometimes I wonder if I'm good enough to be a ninja. Compared to Kakashi, I don't deserve a second glance. No wonder Naruto would speak so highly of him, no wonder Naruto would leave me_...

_Naruto_... thinking about that hyperactive blond haired boy, Iruka's heart wrenched.

* * *

When the pancakes were all gone and the milk had been forced down Kakashi's throat by a persistent Iruka, Iruka gently wiped the crumbs off the edge of Kakashi's mouth. His hands lingered there a while longer then they should have, mesmerized by the full and wide lips… 

Kakashi was desperately trying not to feel the soft fingers on his mouth.

_If Iruka's not going to stop this soon, he's going to find me sucking down hard of his fingers_. _Oh to hell with it!_

The temptation was too great to resist and he wanted to see what Iruka's reaction would be.

Kakashi leaned forward and took Iruka's fingers into his mouth.

_He tastes so sweet_..._must be the maple syrup_...

His tongue flicked around his fingers, tasting, devouring... Kakashi lifted his eyes.

Iruka was battling both shock and pleasure. He wanted to whack Kakashi in the head for doing such an absurd thing. He wanted to moan out loud and let Kakashi continue what he was doing. He wanted… ahh... he didn't know what he wanted anymore.

Iruka sighed in pleasure.

Kakashi watched mixed expressions flicker across Iruka's face. _He's so transparent…_ When Iruka gave a soft moan, Kakashi's blood raced and to and he felt himself becoming aroused.

_Unfortunately, now's not the time and place for what I have in mind for you. _Reluctantly, Kakashi released Iruka's fingers.

Iruka was too shocked to react for a while. _Did Kakashi just did what I thought he did?_ Iruka blushed a deep beetroot red. _And I didn't resist at all. I let him do what he want. Oh man! _Iruka was both mortified and afraid. For Kakashi had stirred emotions deep within him. Emotions that he wasn't quite ready to face of yet.

"Wha... what did you do that for?" Iruka's expression was that of a caged rabbit.

"Eh... Uh... You had syrup on your fingers." Kakashi said the first thing that popped into his mind. He couldn't very well say that Iruka's innocence was driving him mad and he desperately wanted to find out what that chocolate skin tasted like.

Now he knew. It was salty, tangy, with a hint of the soap Iruka used. And of course, there was Iruka's scent...

"Don... don't you do that again, you hear that!" A flustered but indignant Iruka asserted.

"Maaa... don't worry about it, you'd better hurry for your lessons." Kakashi repressed a small grin.

"My goodness! I almost forgot!" Iruka exclaimed.

_How did this man manage to make me lose all rational thoughts? ARGH! _Iruka screamed mentally.

Iruka slowly lowered Kakashi back to lie down on the bed. "Now, don't do anything funny while I'm away. I will be back in the evening."

Kakashi's eyes darkened. What could he do in this pathetic state... He felt his eyes close involuntarily.

_Damn, he was sleepy already? _

Kakashi struggled to keep awake. He opened his eyes and saw Iruka giving him a soft smile, tucking in his covers like he was a small child.

"Just go to sleep. Your body needs all the rest it can get to recover."

The last thing Kakashi remembered when he fell asleep was something like a hand combing through his hair...

* * *

Comments/Criticism are all welcome! 


	4. Routine

**Snow887**: yep! Iruka is sooooo cute.. especially when he gets all angry and flustered! I love Kakashi! Glad that you liked the story!

**Author's note:** Thanks to everyone who reviewed... the fourth chapter is minimal dialogue and lots of narration... hope i don't bore everyone to tears! sniff sniff Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any Naruto characters

* * *

**Chapter 4**

2 weeks had passed since the day Kakashi was unceremoniously dumped at Iruka's apartment. Well, not dumped but rather forcefully-persuaded-and-left-with-no-choice settled in the spare room at Iruka's house.

Life revolving around the two ninjas, it seemed, had fallen into routine...

Morning for Iruka began with waking up before the crack of dawn and rushing through his daily morning routines. This was followed up by a stressful task of preparing breakfast for Kakashi, who at this time, would have woken up and would be yelling his lungs out for Iruka to "get your ass over here with my breakfast!"

Stressful because Kakashi always seemed to find fault with whatever Iruka had prepared. And it was only through much coaxing, cajoling and physical force that Kakashi grudgingly ate what Iruka had prepared.

Iruka bore Kakashi's bad temper with a cheerful smile and with the naïve hope that Kakashi would one day appreciate all that he had done for him and would just "shut up and eat his breakfast nicely."

As days turned into weeks however, Iruka realized his childish fantasy was not going to materialize. It was then that Iruka's eternal cheerfulness and love for all things living began to be gradually eroded, corroded and chipped away by Kakashi's complaints and ungratefulness.

It all came to an end one day when Kakashi had thrown his 10th insult at Iruka within the last 5 minutes. Iruka had blown his top.

Calmly though, as befitted Umino Iruka, one of the best teacher at the academy. Iruka prided himself for having survived through several batches of unruly, impossible young genins-aspire-to-be where some teachers had escaped, bearing on the verge of sanity with just one lesson with the class. Really, how difficult was it to deal with one irritating jounin that refused to keep his pervetic mouth shut.

Easy, Iruka thought.

As cool as a cucumber, Iruka sat the breakfast tray on Kakashi's lap, ignored the dirty look Kakashi shot him and proceeded to tidy up the mess Kakashi had made when he had fussed around the day before.

Instead of putting back the books on the shelf though, Iruka collected the various volumes of _Icha Icha Paradisu_, stacked them up neatly, did a couple of hand seals and calmly began to burn up the stack of books. All this without a word uttered, without getting angry, without a single threat or plea. He even managed to give Kakashi a bright smile.

Had Kakashi been well and able, Iruka would have found himself tortured to a sinister death within minutes. Unfortunately **or** fortunately for Iruka, Kakashi was hardly in a position to do so. He sputtered, stared and then gave a resounding scream.

Smiling, Iruka promised Kakashi that only if he were good then would the sacred volumes of _Icha Icha Paradisu_ be returned to him.

If this was a game of cards, Iruka would have won hands down. As it was, Kakashi was as good as a babe after that.

It was only later that Kakashi could only howl in dismay at having been cheated by a mere chuuin in the game of wits. The flame had merely been the work of Genjutsu, an illusion. Iruka certainly did not have Uchiha's talents in creating fire out of thin air.

Deep down within him though, his heart betrayed him by praising Iruka for his smartness at having bested Kakashi and respect for Iruka raised a notch.

Truth to be told, Iruka didn't really mind all the teasing thrown by Kakashi. It was only when Kakashi went overboard and when he began to throw groundless insults that Iruka really lost it. In fact, he was a little ashamed at himself for that childish prank he pulled on Kakashi. It seemed like something only Naruto would do!

Since then, the two enjoyed their banter early in the morning but whenever Kakashi went overboard, Iruka would only have to threaten the welfare of _Icha Icha Paradisu_ before Kakashi willingly submitted.

Iruka would then leave Kakashi to his own devices while he prepared lunch. He would then leave it beside the bed, usually with a glass of orange juice or milk (depending on whether he thought Kakashi was a good boy that day) and leave for the academy with a cheerful goodbye to Kakashi.

Sometimes, Kakashi's friends would pop over to say hi to Kakashi. Kakashi welcomed visits from Kurenai-sensei and Asuma-sensei. What he dreaded was the arrival of Gai-sensei, which was announced by a loud bang, purple smoke and a dramatic pose. Gai never failed to rattle on about how he would defeat Kakashi once and for all when he recovered. Their conversations were inevitable loud and one-sided, often ending up with Gai in tears when Kakashi gave him a bored expression and asked politely, "eh, what were you saying just now?"

It was with mixed feelings of bitter and sweetness that Kakashi looked forward to the times when Sakura would visit him, often with Tsunade who seemed determined to turn Sakura into a miniature version of herself. Kakashi didn't quite want to admit that Sakura had somehow wormed her way into him, hijacking a part of his heart, as had two other troublesome genins, whose whereabouts he dearly wished to know.

Seeing Sakura suffering under the hands of her new mentor made him laugh, her concern touched him and her perseverance at which she pursued her tasks won his heart. It also reminded him of a certain blond fellow who had been the key catalyst to spurring on the once love-struck teenager to become the sensible, capable chuunin she was today.

More often then not though, Kakashi's afternoons were long and lonely and he was often left alone to deal with his own demons.

Iruka would often return home in the late afternoon to find an unusually pensive Kakashi. Iruka didn't know what bothered Kakashi. He didn't try to hazard a guess. What he did was merely to share his daily escapades at the academy with Kakashi, to try and erase the jaded expression behind Kakashi's eyes.

It seemed to cheer him up.

They chatted away while Iruka prepared dinner. Sometimes they would watch television while eating dinner. But as Kakashi insisted on commenting on the "lousy acting" or "horrendous graphics" every few seconds, Iruka could seldom watch the dramas in peace.

After washing up, Iruka would then bury his head between piles of homework, marking furiously away and trying to win the race against time. It was usually close to midnight when he finally turned in.

Then on a rare day, Kakashi had silently volunteered to help Iruka with his "homework". Quietly, he had taken half of the stack of homework and had proceeded to mark them with the ease of a tensai ninja. So engrossed was Iruka in his work that it was only when he had completed the final exercise in his pile that he looked up and was shocked out of his chair at the sight of a certain silver haired jounin marking away steadily at the pile of exercises before him.

Iruka's heart gave a jolt. He was so pleased with Kakashi that he offered to make Kakashi a warm, lovely cup of coffee. Kakashi hastily declined though, having first-hand experience of Iruka's skills of coffee-making. He couldn't quite comprehend how Iruka who was such a great cook could fail at something as simple as coffee making. Nor could he understand why Iruka, amiable and likable by everyone in Konoha could be so intensely detested by the coffee-making machine.

Somewhat hurt, Iruka had then offered to sing Kakashi to sleep (as if he were just a little boy in need of some mothering) that night. Surprisingly, Iruka's soothing voice soon sent Kakashi into dreamland where he dreamt of a certain coffee coloured hair chuunin...

Kakashi was recovering at a healthy rate. Already he could get out of bed and move around on crutches with ease.His cuts and bruises were almost all gone and his strength was returning, albeit slowly.

Kakashi disliked anyone seeing him unmasked and would still put on his mask whenever he had visitors. He seemed to make the exception for Iruka-sensei though.

Iruka became accustomed to Kakashi's unexplainable mood swings. Thankfully, whatever sexual intentions Kakashi had displayed to him on the first day had vanished. It was with relief that he accepted this, although there was just the tiniest bit of regret...

Well, maybe not that tiny.

Unknown to Iruka, Kakashi found Iruka irritatingly attractive. It made no sense! Iruka was just okay looking. Yet he kept thinking how that Iruka's mouth would taste when he dipped his tongue in. How it would feel to run his hands over his chests, hear him moan... Kakashi could get hard just thinking about it.

There were times when he almost lost it, when all he had wanted was to grab Iruka's mouth down in one bruising, passionate kiss. He had exerted control like a real gentleman and had regretted deeply, wishing he had acted like a scoundrel instead and had taken what he wanted, just so that he could the obsession with Iruka out of his mind.

And yet... Iruka seemed to have no inkling of his sexual frustrations. _Is he a moron or is he just sickeningly innocent!_

Kakashi could only ground his teeth in frustration...

* * *

That's it! Hope to update soon... the fifth chapter would be much more interaction between kakashi and iruka! till then )  
Comments/Criticism are all welcome ) 


	5. Bandages undone

**snow887: **thx for reviewing all the time.. and for waiting patiently too! hope you like the next one  
**Pink Raine: **thx for the encouragement... wasn't too sure how my lengthy chapter will be received so im glad u think its okay!  
**Zezura:** you made my day with your review! thank you!  
**Zeri:** hahaha.. im really glad u like it!  
**ruka-kun:** thx for reviewing all my chaps and all my stories! muacks  
**Yu-lin:** I'm glad u like chap 3! i thought it was very smart of me... lolx! why burn novels?  
**mini-kero:** thanks! I'm glad u like it! muacks and take care too!  
**driftingwanderer:** glad taht you've wandered your way here ) ty and i'll keep it up!

Thank you to everyone who reviewed, especially **ruka-kun**, **Zeri**, **Zezura**, **Pink Raine** and **snow887**.. you guys have reviewed constantly! and it really made my day **brighter**! Also to the silent readers... glad tt u took time to add me to ur fav stories! lolx.

chap 5 took a long time coming out.. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any Naruto characters

* * *

**Chapter 5**

"Wake up! Wake up!" It was the crack of dawn and Kakashi was rudely awakened by Iruka's shrill cry.

"Today is the day!" Kakashi popped open one eye to see a grinning Iruka in T-shirt and shorts, standing at the foot of his bed.

The shorts displayed a healthy amount of Iruka's well-muscled shins. Kakashi stared in appreciation. His danger attuned mind, realizing that the 'attacks' were only a noisy Iruka, switched back to the half asleep mode. It was currently incapable of comprehending more then the present status of Iruka's shins and ankles which were _very nice... very nice indeed_.

"Oi! Oi! You aren't listening to me!" Two hands shove his shoulders violently and then some black hot liquid was forced down his throat. Kakashi instantly perked up. More due to the fact that the liquid tasted more horrible then anything he had drunk then that it was coffee containing caffeine.

In any case, Kakashi was finally awake.

A great yawn bounced off the walls of the room. "What day?" Kakashi murmured.

"The day! The day you're finally going to say goodbye to your bandages! No more yucky long white bandages. Isn't this cause for celebration?"

"Ahh... so it is." Not sharing Iruka's enthusiasm, Kakashi considered going back the sleep. The bed was warm and inviting, the pillow fluffy and soft... But that would mean he'll have to take another dose of Iruka's 'coffee' and he wasn't sure his digestive system could take it. Kakashi flung away the blankets and covering and made his way to the bathroom to wash up.

Iruka couldn't help but stare as Kakashi padded into the bathroom. _Kakashi is so not a morning person._ He was glad that Kakashi had not seen him staring as he had flung away his covers. He didn't know Kakashi slept without his shirt and wore only a pair of boxer shorts. Iruka got a very nice view of Kakashi's chest. Two weeks of lying in bed did nothing to soften the hard muscles beneath the covers.

Iruka knew he should have gotten used to seeing Kakashi's bare chest. But he always had to hide an involuntary blush at seeing the lean and well-worn body.

* * *

When Kakashi emerged several minutes later, he was refreshed and alert. Iruka was already ready with the medical kit. 

"Morning Iruka-sensei, you needn't help me. I can undo the bandages on my own."

"It's okay. I promised Tsunade-sama to take care of you didn't I?"

Kakashi shrugged, biting back a smile, glad that Iruka had not taken up his offer. He rather liked the chuuin waiting on him, _the great copy-cat ninja Kakashi!_

Iruka sat on the chair facing Kakashi, legs splayed open to capture Kakashi's in between. Kakashi tried not to think of the possibilities of this particular position.

Iruka removed the bandages on the head first, revealing the shiny Sharingan orb. It seemed to glisten and see right into his soul. Shaking himself mentally, Iruka grabbed an eyepatch beside him.

"Here, I thought you might need this." He deftly tied the eye patch over the Sharingan, threading his fingers through the unruly silver hair and enjoying the soft feel of it.

"Um... so how did you get the Sharingan?"

Kakashi pretended to ponder over the question. He motioned Iruka to lean closer and dropped his voice to a soft whisper.

"Would you believe it if I say Itachi and I were the ones who massacred the entire Uchiha clan and I stole the eye from them?"

Iruka's eyes widened with terror and shock. His jaw slacked as he stared at Kakashi.

"Oh my God."

Kakashi couldn't help it. He laughed out loud. A hearty laugh that hurt his ribs.

"You!" Iruka sputtered as he realized he had been deceived. He raised a fist and looked angry enough to strike.

_Oops! I think I hurt his pride._

Trapped between Iruka's legs and not willing to not allow Iruka to get his revenge, Kakashi closed his eyes and waited for the blow to descend...

A soft hand splayed across his chest, lingering for a moment before moving to untie the bandage that bound his ribs.

"You are incorrigible. I'm glad you were never my student. You're almost as bad as Naruto!" Iruka said in mock seriousness even as his eyes twinkled with amusement.

"Aw sensei.. you wound me! I'll have you know that I'm an incredibly bright student."

Iruka rolled his eyes in mock horror.

Kakashi grinned.

* * *

Iruka examined the light bruises on Kakashi's chest. _They are healing well, should be fine without the bandages now... _He began to remove the stitches on Kakashi's shoulder. 

"I hope you're not ticklish because this is going to tickle." Iruka warned as he leaned forward to gently pull out the string.

Kakashi was not ticklish but Iruka's nearness was having an undesired effect on him. He could feel Iruka's measured breaths beside his ear, sending shivers down his spine. He could see Iruka's tongue sticking out as he concentrated on undoing the stitches. Tendrils of hair brushed across his lips teasingly. Kakashi was acutely aware of the thighs holding him imprisonment.

_Restrain Kakashi! Restrain! Okay, breathe in, breathe out! Concentrate on something else... like the latest chapter of _Icha Icha Paradisu. Bad choice. That pervetic book only fuelled his imagination and it was with much relief when Iruka finally took the stitch out.

Outwardly, Kakashi was a picture of calm, collectedness and even slight boredom. He prayed that Iruka did not notice the bulge in his shorts. Thank God his boxers were large enough to conceal...

"There the top half is done!" Iruka sat back to admire his handiwork. Freed of all his bandages, Kakashi's broad chest still bore some faint bruises, so did his arms. A few age old scars stood out prominently on the otherwise perfect skin. There was a particularly nasty one that cut almost halfway across his chest.

"Like what you see: Kakashi grinned cheekily.

Iruka blushed furiously much to Kakashi's delight.

Kakashi propped his leg onto the chair as Iruka left it to sit on the ground, getting ready to remove the leg bandages. Their fingers brushed each other as they unraveled the long cloth, creating fluttery feelings in Iruka's stomach.

Kakashi hiked his shorts up higher as he dealt with the bandage on his right thigh. Unfortunately, _this bloody knot won't budge!_

"Come, let me see." Iruka's fingers moved higher up his thigh, resting agonizingly close to the male part of him... His brows furrowed and his pink tongue peeked out again as Iruka concentrated on the knot before him.

Kakashi tensed as he felt Iruka's fingers on his thighs. Iruka was trailing the bruise thoughtfully.

"Hmm... this doesn't look too good." The bruise was still an angry purple. Iruka pressed gently on the bruise. "Does it hurt a lot? It looks quite worrying." He glanced up to see Kakashi gripping tightly to the sides of his chair.

Kakashi was having a hard on. Having Iruka's fingers moving all over him was burning him up. Especially when the fingers were so agonizingly close to _that_ part. If Kakashi didn't know better, he would have accused Iruka of seducing him.

"Kakashi? I'm worried about this. It looks really ugly. Maybe I should inform Tsunade-sama." As Iruka spoke, he grabbed a bottle of ointment and began spreading it over the bruised area, enjoying the feel of the firm pale skin beneath his fingers. Like the rest of his body, Kakashi's legs were toned and muscled.

"Iruka." A hand grabbed his, staying it in midair, hovering over the bruise on Kakashi's thigh.

"Iruka..." Kakashi's voice sounded strained, strangled. Iruka looked up, startled, only to be caught in Kakashi's intense gaze. Concentration and control mixed with passion and desire. Desire? Was it desire Iruka saw in Kakashi's eyes? They made his black eyes gleam with a certain compulsiveness, unable to tear your gaze away from it.

_I'm drowning in them... _Iruka thought. _And I don't give it a damn._ Kakashi was looking at him with such intensity, as if he were the only person alive, as if nothing else mattered. It made him feel protected. It made him feel desired.

With a lightning speed that only Kakashi had, he pulled Iruka into his arms and claimed his mouth in one quick kiss. Shocked, Iruka opened his mouth to protest only to feel Kakashi's tongue sliding in. _Oh God_

It was a hungry kiss, a kiss of possession. Kakashi's tongue invaded, explored and tasted. He pulled Iruka close, Iruka was so soft... so soft. And yet there was a hardness around him that spoke of a quiet determined strength. He felt Iruka's hands in his hair, tentatively at first and then becoming bolder, pulling him closer as if he wanted Kakashi to take all of him...

The kiss gentled and Kakashi reluctantly released Iruka's mouth. His body was throbbing with desire. Iruka's own face was flushed and the ponytail was long gone, hair cascaded down his back. His lips were swollen from the kisses.

"You do this to me..." Kakashi murmured in almost a whisper.

Iruka's eyes widened as big as saucers. A mixture of emotions, embarrassment, anger, confusion and shock flew across his face.

"Oh my god.. what did I just do?" he whispered, almost to himself.

Iruka backed away from Kakashi, reaching the door, still in a half state of shock, he turned around and fled.

Kakashi stared at the empty doorway for several minutes. "Shit!" He exclaimed loud to no one in particular, burying his face in his hands. _Hell, I screwed this up real bad. _

Kakashi was weary. Tired of doing everything wrong and tired of hurting everyone around him, tired of hurting his friends.

Friends? It was an unfamiliar taste in his mouth. A foreign idea. With a start, Kakashi realized that yes, he did consider Iruka a friend. Even though the time together had been short, but he had taken a liking towards the chuunin.

_Friends.. until now... I really need a cold shower. _

But Iruka had tasted so good... he had felt so right in his arms. Soft in the right places, hard in the others... and Iruka had responded with so much enthusiasm. _Maybe I imagined it. _Kakashi let the cold water pound onto his back. _You don't even know if he's gay.. you don't even know if he even likes you! Not many people are willing to accept that they like people of the same sex... hell, I didn't even know if it was normal until he told me... _

Kakashi recalled a certain conversation several years ago...

* * *

Kakashi sat on the top of the tree, brooding. Swinging his kunai absently, he contemplated what he had seen the other day. _Someone's coming. _

A flash of yellow appeared, right behind Kakashi, only to be peppered by kunais from the right. The Kakashi on the tree disappeared with a poof as the real Kakashi landed gracefully on the tree next to it, hands performing the seal, ready to...

"Sensei!"

"Is that the way you greet your sensei? And here I was thinking tokeep you companysince you're sitting down here all alone."

"You shouldn't sneak on me like that." Kakashi accused.

"Ahaha. Okay I admit I was testing you out." Kakashi's sensei grinned. At 14, Kakashi's skills were as good as any other ANBU's.

"Hmpf"

"So what's wrong? I know you long enough to know you've been brooding about something. So, spit it out..."

Startled that his sensei would know him so well, Kakashi thought carefully before speaking. "Sensei, remember that mission that we were given last week? To spy on that minister's son?"

"Uh-huh?"

"Remember we caught him in bed later on..."

"Yup."

"Having sex..."

"That's right."

"With another guy?"

Silence came.

And lingered for a while.

"I mean... I just want to ask.. to know.. is this normal behaviour? Isn't it kind of weird? Guys liking guys? Is it wrong or... I mean what if you're... or what if... you.. you like guys?

Another long pause.

"Ahh.. I see where this is leading to. It's a rather complicated issue so listen carefully." And then Kakashi's sensei launched into a lengthy explanation that involved a lot of birds and alot of bees. Personally, Kakashi didn't NEED a lesson on entomology, but he thought it rude to interrupt since his sensei was so enthusiastic about the discussion.

_Hmm... _

It was Jiraiya who gave him more appropriate and accurate information.

"Gays you mean? I always prefer girls more then guys so I'm not sure how they feel. But I don't think guys liking guys is a crime. It's ultimately your preference. I'm not to sure about this but it is probably something in your genes that make you the way you are. Although there are more normal guys, I'm sure there are gays in Konoha too.. if you know where to look." Jiraiya gave a conspirical grin.

"Why the sudden interest Kakashi?"

Kakashi did not reply. Instead, he blushed a deep red. Jiraiya pondered a moment, confused, before staring at him in mixed wonder and amusement.

"Ohhohoho! I see! I see! So you don't like girls huh.. you like..."

"Shut up you old man!" Kakashi connected a fist into Jiraiya's stomach, knocking the wind out of him...

_I'm gay? I'm gay! No wonder I never liked girls. No wonder I always found guys more attractive... Well, at least I know I'm not the only one after all! I always knew I'm weird but I'm glad there are other weird people along with me!_

* * *

That was how Kakashi first realized that he was not normal like Asuma or Kurenai, or even Gai for that matter. 

The shower cooled him down. Kakashi leaned against the bathroom wall, unable to keep himself from shivering.

Not from the cold, but from his chilling memories.

His past lovers were all gone. Actually there were only two. The first had died in a mission, just a week after he had known him. Kakashi had barely been 16 at that time. The second had used him, used him to get information, and in the end had betrayed him... almost destroying Konoha in the process. Had Kakashi not found out when he did, Konoha would have suffered greatly.

Kakashi had been the one to slit his throat.

_No... I really do not need Umino Iruka to complicate my life further... _

_

* * *

_

That's it! That's chapter 5... chapter 6 wouldn't be long in the coming now! Thank you for reading :)

Comments/Criticism are all welcome :)

_**I'm very sorry for all the spelling mistakes.. .. "chuunin" and "sharingan" Thank you Uzamaki Liliana**_  
**_and Noni for pointing it out for me!_**


	6. Run, run away!

**ruka-kun**: hehz.. that was one of the longest chapters! Lolx. And Iruka is sooo cute…  
**bery**l: I'm glad u enjoyed reading it ) Iruka is hot..  
**Pink Raine**: yay. Thanks for pointing that out. I've changed that part already… (:  
**Uzamaki Liliana**: eeps! I did spell it wrongly… so sorry.. and yes! Poor kakashi needs lots of lots of love.  
**Noni:** thx for pointing it out.. I've changed the "sharingan". Cheers to KakaIru!  
**Hiei's Gothic Angel:** oh my gosh.. thank you for reviewing ALL the chapters! And I'm SOOO glad u like it. It's people like u that make me want to continue writing!  
**Zezura:** eh.. sorry to disappoint… but probably will stick to T (: I'm glad u like the kiss and sleep well!  
**Shuga:** OOPS! Eh. The website I checked was wrong! ): Will get them together soon!  
**Reki-chan:** thank you! U noe who vanyel is too?  
**anbu-kakashi:** thank u for loving my story! Love u for reviewing!  
**Constances:** big hugz back thank you so much!

**Disclaimer: **By now you should know that I do not own Naruto!

On to chapter 6!

* * *

**Chapter 6**

"Oh my God, what did I just do?" Iruka turned and ran. He ran out of Kakashi's room, he ran out of his house, but most of all, he ran away from Kakashi.

His hair streamed behind him as he ran, caught in the wind. It was a while before Iruka finally stopped. Panting, he glanced around and saw that he had run to _that _place.

Iruka stood before the large stone. Fingers traced the names that had gone down in history for serving Konoha. This was the place that he had gone often when he was a child. Whenever he was angry, sad, happy or confused, he would come here. And just for that little while, he would imagine that his parents were still alive and he was a child again, pouring out all his troubles to them.

_What have I done? I kissed Kakashi... I kissed another man! _Iruka slumped down onto the soft grass. _Worse, I had wanted it... __I should have pushed him away. I should have kicked him, punched him or anything... Instead, I had kissed him back so enthusiastically... Does that mean... mean that I'm really gay? _

That realization did not come as a surprise. Iruka knew that he was not a typical guy. In his teens, when everyone was ogling at girls, he had maintained little then a mild interest at them. They didn't fire his blood, they didn't make his heart race... As he grew older, missions had gotten in the way of his love life. Then, Sandaime had offered him the chance to teach at the academy. Initally Iruka had taken on that job because it ensured a stable income, but he soon discovered his love for teaching. The down side was that teaching took up all of his time, which meant that Iruka rarely had the chance to develop his love affairs.

Until Kakashi had entered his life. _Oh gosh... that kiss... I could blame it all on Kakashi but... _Iruka's cheeks grew hot as he recalled how he had responded to Kakashi's kiss.

"Dad... Mum... what am I going to do?" Iruka groaned.

A few birds chirped in reply, but otherwise, there was no answer.

_Okay... so accepting that I'm gay isn't so hard. I'm sure Konoha has its fair share of gays around... So what' s bothering me now?_

Even without asking, Iruka knew the answer. _Hatake Kakashi. Damn that man! He infuriates me, teases me, mocks me and then brings me to my knees with desire... _

"AHHHH!" Iruka pounded the grass in frustration. Not for the first time, he wished Sandaime was still around to offer him advice. _Sandaime... what advice would you have offerred me? _

Iruka pictured Sandaime in his mind. Old but strong, commanding but fatherly andcaring. He pictured Sandaime pondering that question, deep in concentration. He imagine Sandaime looking up at him, grinning, _"Pounce on him while you have the chance, Iruka."_

_No! No! No! I did NOT just think of that! _Iruka quickly evaporated that thought from his mind.

Iruka sighed. _Okay.. so we kissed, it's no big deal. We're both mature adults and I CAN handle this. No more dwelling on this. Right now, I need all my wits to deal with the most calculating, cunning "ninjas" in Konoha. _Iruka grimaced a little at the thought of dealing with an unruly bunch of would-be genins.

_I will not think about Kakashi... I will not think about Kakashi..._ Iruka got up to his feet and quickly made his way to the academy, determined to banish Kakashi from his mind.

* * *

"Knock knock." 

It was early in the morning and Kakashi wondered at who the person could be. Quickly donning a shirt and adjusting on his mask, he hobbled towards the door.

"Tsunade-sama?"

"Kakashi." Tsunade acknowledged him with a slight inclination of her head, seemingly oblivious to his surprise.

"May I?" She gestured.

"Er.. sure." Kakashi wondered since when had Tsuade ever needed an invitation to enter someone's house. "Make yourself home."

Tsunade quickly sat down on a large comfy sofa and indicated to the seat opposite her. "Sit." she commanded, "There's something serious we need to discuss."

"Not here to examine my wounds? And here I was thinking of how nice you were to be so concern..."

"Kakashi, SIT."

Something in her voice alerted Kakashi. He obediently sat down, donning his expressionless, almost bored look.

"I presume this is not a friendly visit."

"No, Kakashi. This is about your last mission."

Kakashi arch his brow in question.

Tsunade suddenly looked away, unwilling to look at him in the eye. She clasped her hands together in front of her in a defensive action.

Puzzled, Kakashi waited in silence for her to speak.

"It WAS a mission in that the scroll needed to be out of the enemies' hands. But, I also knew it was a trap."

Kakashi waited.

"And, I know the trap was meant specifically for you."

Silence hung in the air as the implications of the words sank in.

Kakashi's eyes narrowed, "You purposely sent me? Even knowing it was a trap?"

"Yes, but listen, I needed to have more information. All I knew about the enemy were rumours and sketchy information. I needed concrete proof and solid confirmation."

"So you sent me to spring the trap."

"Yes."

Kakashi was silent for a moment. The knowledge that he had been a mere chess piece in Tsunade's plans left a bitter taste in his mouth. But...

"That's not all that you've come to see me today about is it? What have you found out?"

Tsunade nodded, impressed by Kakashi's preceptiveness. "Orochimaru and Kabuto are brewing something and whatever they are doing, it is trouble. The plot I suspect involves a Sharingan."

"They want the Sharingan, Kakashi, and not just any Sharingan, they want you and YOUR Sharingan."

* * *

"Konohamaru!" 

Deafened by Iruka-sensei's amazingly loud voice, Konohamaru froze in mid-action.

"Get back here, Konohamaru!" Iruka stood hands on his hips, legs slightly opened wide, his face fierce and serious. It was a formidable face meant to scare even the most brave of students.

"But.. but, Iruka-sensei! I need to go to the loo!"

"This is the third time in one hour that you have gone!"

"but... Iruka-sensei..."

"Get back here before I drag you sorry self to your seat and give you the spanking you deserve."

Konohamaru stood silently for a while, weighing the pros and cons of obeying Iruka-sensei. The cons would be that he would have to endure another 2 hours of boring lessons. Pros would be that he would not have to endure anymore of those deafening shouts, would be able to shake off the persistent Iruka sensei and most of all, would be able to prevent the possibility of suffering the humiliation from being spanked by Iruka-sensei.

Clearly the pros outweighed the cons.

"Hmpf, Iruka-sensei, you sure are moody today, are you sure you are not a girl? I thought only girls have such mood swings." Konohamaru remarked as he slowly shuffled his way back to the classroom.

Iruka stiffened. _Moody? I'm not moody for goodness sakes! I'm not thinking about that kiss. I'm not thinking about Ka..._ Iruka caught himself before he let his thoughts wander to the person he had forbiddened himself to think about.

Iruka ran a hand down his face. The children were especially tiring today. More restless and more easily provoked. Somehow, they had caught the restlessness of their sensei. _For hokage's sake I must get my spirits together. _

"Okay children, since you are all so restless , we shall not have any more lectures today. For the next few hours, we will practice taijutsus outside."

"Yay!" The children chorused as they all scrambled out of their seats and ran to the courtyard.

Iruka smiled as he followed them to the courtyard. _I don't blame them for finding the lessons boring, they are just a bit too dry. I need to think of ways to make them interesting..._

* * *

"Bye! Iruka-sensei." Iruka grinned and waved goodbye to the kids as they spilled out of the school gates into the arms of loving parents. Laughter and chatter filled the air as the children prattled on about the day's activities while the parents smiled in indulgence. Iruka loved this time of the day. When the rays of sunlight slanted across the sky, when you can see the first tinges of orange and yellow among the clouds. 

"Iruka-sensei..."

Iruka looked down to see a contrite Konohamaru looking up at him with baleful eyes.

"I'm sorry for what I said just now... "

Iruka bent down to ruffle Konohamaru's hair. "It's alright. Your taijutsu was good today."

Konohamaru gave a wide grin. It lasted for awhile, but faded quickly.

"Anou... Iruka-sensei, is it alright for a ninja to miss people?"

Iruka followed his gaze to see Konohamaru staring at the groups of children with their parents.

_Konohamaru... You miss Sandaime and Naruto don't you? _Iruka's heart ached with sadness for this little boy who had lost so much but still faced every day with such cheerfulness. _So like Naruto..._

"Ninjas are human first, and all humans have the right to have emotions. Come, let's go to Ichiraku to have ramen. My treat!"

"Really? Yay!" Konohamaru barreled into Iruka and wrapped his small arms around his waist.

Iruka smiled.

"Wait while I call home first." Whipping out a cell phone, Iruka punched in the numbers. The phone rang three times before it was answered. Lips suddenly dry, Iruka wet them with his tongue.

"Hello?"

"Kakashi-sensei... this is Iruka. I'm taking Konohamaru out for dinner tonight. Would you be alright on your own?"

It was a rhetorical question that didn't exactly needed to be answered.

"No problem, I'm fine, I'll just grab whatever you have in the kitchen."

There was a pregnant pause as neither party wanted to broach about what had happened this moring. It was Iruka who spoke first.

"What happened this morning..."

"We'll talk about it when you get back."

It was a command, not a question.

"Alright."

"You have a good time with Konohamaru."

There was a soft click as the receiver was put down. Iruka stared as he felt the monotonous tone sounding loud and empty in his ear. _Overbearing jerk._ "Come, Konohamaru, let's go." He said as he grabbed Konohamaru's hand. "We're going to have fun tonight, just you and me!"

* * *

Back at Iruka's house, Kakashi looked around at the empty place. It seemed cold. Empty and cold. Tsunade had spoken to him at length about what she had known. He tried not to be bothered that someone was after, possibly his life. He knew for a fact that many people would love to kill him, copy ninja Kakashi. Orochimaru was just another guy to add to the long list. 

That thought was not the least bit comforting.

Kakashi tried to return to his book, but even the juiciest bits of _Icha Icha Paradisu_ couldn't cheer him up. It wasn't just what Tsunade had told him today. It was also Iruka...

Tried as he might, Kakashi couldn't stop thinking about Iruka, of how that chuunin had tasted in his mouth nor could he forget how Iruka had felt in his arms... Yet, he was also haunted by the caged look in Iruka's eyes as he had ran away from him.

_Run... yes, run away from me. There's nothing I can give you except more pain and more anguish. You deserve so much better then me._

Iruka was avoiding him. Kakashi had no doubt of it. That was why he had brought Konohamaru out today, so that he could avoid seeing Kakashi. It shouldn't have mattered, but nonetheless, Kakashi felt just the slightest twinge of hurt.

Abandoning his book, Kakashi proceeded to rummage through the kitchen for anything that requies little cooking but would fill his stomach.

* * *

Iruka carried a sleeping Konohamaru under his arm as he walked on the streets of Konoha. The sky tonight was dark, the moon had apparently taken a holiday and the streets were softly illuminated by the lights from houses and the few shops that were still in operation at this time. 

Shizune was waiting frantically at the house. She had almost worn the floor down with her pacing when Iruka appeared at the doorway.

"Iruka...? Konohamaru!" Shizune went forward to relieve Iruka of the dead weight.

"Gomen, I brought him out for dinner but didn't thought to inform you."

"Hn." There was just the slight disapproval in her tone.

"It's alright. Konohamaru can fend for himself. You worry too much about him. He's more capable then you think."

"Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade gave Iruka a smile while she waved Shizune away.

"Tsunade-sama. Thank you for taking care of Konohamaru."

Tsunade shrugged. "You're too good, Iruka, I take care of him so that when I meet Sandaime in the netherworlds, I would not have to face his wrath of not taking good care of his grandson. Besides, Konohamaru is a great kid... So... how are things between you and Kakashi? I popped by today. He's healing really fast, faster then I had expected. He'll probably be gone in about two more weeks. You should be glad then."

_Two weeks? So fast... _Iruka quickly hid his disappointment. But Tsunade did not miss it, neither did she miss the conflict of emotions playing across his face.

_Something is going on between them... _Tsunade hid a sly smile.

"Eh, yah, I'll sure be glad! We're fine, but you know how irritating Kakashi is, always reading those dirty books of his, but he's good company."

"You are a gem, Iruka. No wonder Sandaime thought so highly of you." speaking so, Tsunade tiptoed to plant a kiss on Iruka's cheek.

Iruka blushed furiously.

"Good night, oh and be nice to Kakashi." Tsunade turned on her heels, leaving Iruka to wonder about her last remark.

* * *

It was very late by the time Iruka had reached home. Luckily there wasn't school tomorrow. He still had half a stack of papers sitting at home, unmarked. The house was already dark. Kakashi must have fallen asleep. _That's good, I don't really want to face him now._

Iruka had returned home late frequent enough and he knew his way around in the dark with practice ease so he didn't bother turning on the lights. Not waiting for his eyes to adjust to the near pitch-darkness, Iruka made his way towards his bedroom.

Two hands captured his wrists and a hard body hit him to the ground.

"Wha.."

A large hand covered his mouth. Iruka panicked and twisted beneath the person. _Intruder! What happened to Kakashi?_

Iruka squirmed, trying to throw the person off. Then, the lights came on.

"Iruka?"

Kakashi immediately released his hold on Iruka and swung him up.

"Kakashi! What the devil are you doing? Attacking me like this!" Iruka fumed and ranted while Kakashi listened, amused.

"Hey hey.. I thought YOU were an intruder, coming in in the dark."

"This is MY house! I thought you would be asleep by now and I didn't want to wake you! So much for my kindness."

"I was asleep. I'm just a light sleeper."

Iruka mumbled something intelligible under his breath.

"Did you say something?"

Iruka took off his hair tie and ran his fingers through his long hair. "Look, I'm tired and you just scared the hell out of me, le'ts just part in peace and deal with this tomorrow okay?"

"No."

"What?"

"I said no. We need to talk about this now." Kakashi was adamant.

Iruka sank into the comforting arms of the sofa, combing his hair with his fingers and closing his eyes in weariness. He had thought about little else besides Kakshi today. And some time during the evening, he had found the "answer" he was looking for. Iruka waited for Kakashi to say his piece.

"I... this morning..."

Kakashi trailed off, uncertain of what to say. Iruka opened his eyes to look at Kakashi expectantly. To his amazement, the usually confident jounin was stuttering like an uncertain child.

"I... just let me pack my bag now and I'll go."

"No."

"What?"

"I said no. You're not leaving."

"You need not mind me you know? I can take care of myself." Kakashi smiled, trying to lighten the mood. His eyes slitting into one cresent shape line.

It was an empty smile.

Iruka hated that smile that was so devoid of feeling, so fake.

"I thought about this for a long time. I tried not to think about us, about you." Iruka stood up and stepped closer until he was standing directly in front of Kakashi.

"I couldn't do it. You were everywhere in my mind... This morning was my fault as much as yours." Iruka looked up seriously into Kakashi's one black eye. "You make me want you..." he whispered.

Angling his head forward, Iruka placed a chaste kiss on Kakashi's lips, through the mask.

"I promised Tsunade-sama to take good care of you, and I keep to my promises."

This time, the smile that Kakashi gave was genuine.

* * *

yay! finished this chapter. i hope i dint make Iruka and Kakashi too OOC... hehz. i hope chap7 won't be too late in coming... whee.. thanx everyone for reading and will be happy to receive suggestions/comments on how u think the story is or how u think i can make iruka/kakashi better! 

yay!


	7. Let me be your lover

**YAY! This chapter was recovered all thanks to **Mirai-Kung (: **ENJOY!**

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* * *

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**Chapter 7**

"They fell for the trap."

"They did? Soka..."

"But..."

"But?"

"We lost both the original copy and the man."

The air whistled as the snakeman's head extended forward to latch itself on his aide's throat.

"Orochimaru-sama..." the voice trembled in fear.

The head released its hold and recoiled.

"Incompetent fools." Orochimaru spat, greatly displeased.

"We still have the duplicated copy and it wouldn't be difficult to make a second attempt. We will try again, master. Please have more patience."

"Hnn..." Orochimaru sat back on his chair. "Just make sure that you get it soon." He flexed his fists, testing the muscles of the new body. "I want his Sharingan. I will use it to uncover all the jutsus in the world! Come to me... Hatake Kakashi..."

* * *

Kakashi stood at the foot of the bed, coffee in one hand, admiring the sleeping Iruka. He was angelic in sleep, peaceful with strands of hair falling lightly over his face and brows slightly furrowed in concentration. He lay curled on one side, one fisted hand tucked under his chin for comfort. His lips were slightly parted...

Iruka awoke to see a mug of steamy aromatic coffee before him. Blinking wordlessly, he took the coffee and trustingly downed it in one gulp.  
_M... heaven..._

The coffee cup had barely left his lips when he felt it being whisked away. Two strong hands pulled him out of bed into the arms of...

Iruka blinked, looking up at Kakashi, bewildered. "What are you doing?"

"Claiming my morning kiss." Kakashi grinned cheekily before covering Iruka's mouth. The teacher had no chance to protest... not that he wanted to, really.

Kakashi lightly nipped Iruka's bottom lip, sliding his tongue over and over the full, luscious mouth. Iruka pressed closer to Kakashi, wanting to taste Kakshi in his mouth... But still Kakashi teased and eluded Iruka with his tongue. Sliding his hands beneath Iruka's rumpled shirt to the taut stomach underneath, Kakashi's hands left a trail of burning sensation as they skimmed across Iruka's already flushed skin.

Iruka moaned in pleasure when Kakashi's talented hands cupped his bottom and pressed him against Kakashi's hard length. Iruka reached up, angling his head, silently pleading for Kakashi to deepen the kiss.

Kakashi obliged, thrusting his tongue inside, swirling around to taste the bittersweet remains of coffee in Iruka's mouth. Iruka surrendered totally, allowing Kakashi to plunder, to taste him fully. His hands crept up to cling onto Kakashi's broad shoulders. Kakashi was kissing him senseless and all he could do was to grab on to the only safe anchor amidst the storm of desire.

Kakashi ground himself into Iruka's body, so soft and so frail beside his own lean and tough one. His tongue explored and conquered, claiming Iruka as his own.

"DING!"

The shrill cry of the toaster broke the heated kiss. Iruka jumped in surprised and promptly blushed a deep red as he felt Kakashi's evident arousal pressed hard against him...

Kakashi cradled Iruka's face in his gloved hands. One hand lifted the stray strands of hair to tuck it behind Iruka's ear. "Be my lover." Kakashi whispered.

"Baby... be my lover and let me be yours... " Kakashi crooned.

Iruka's chocolate eyes widened and trembled slightly with emotion.

Kakashi chuckled. "It's okay, you don't have to tell me no right away. Besides, I'll wait you out, I'm a patient man... I, Hatake Kakashi always get what I want in the end." Saying so, he brushed a light kiss across Iruka's lips before extricating himself from Iruka's arms to tend to the neglected breakfast.

_"Be my lover?"_ The words played again and again in Iruka's head. How bad would that be? To lose himself to the dark mysterious depths of the man called Kakashi. To bury himself in the silver-coloured hair and hard body. To surrender himself to desire and succumb to the pleasure that Kakashi promised... How hard indeed? _Not hard at all.. not hard at all..._

Kakashi mentally punched himself as he skillfully tended to the two eggs sizzling happily in the frying pan. The words had erupted out of his mouth before he had been able to stop them. Funny thing though, that he didn't regret them.

_"Be my lover, Iruka..."_

So much for maintaining his attractive bachelor reputation. Kakashi snorted.

But... having Iruka in his bed would be the best thing to happen to him in a long time... On the other hand, Kakashi wondered if that was wise.

_Right now I'm wanted by an S rank criminal. If Iruka were to get dragged into this mess because of me..._

Kakashi shook his head, trying to clear away his doubts. _Their target is me... besides Iruka can take care of himself... and... there's no way I'm going to let Iruka get too close to me... no way will they use Iruka against me..._

_Orochimaru... what do you want with me?_

* * *

The week progressed with Kakashi hot on Iruka's heels (literally).

Sunday: Kakashi let the sausages burn as he pinned Iruka against the kitchen skin and ravished him with his mouth. "Kakashi! Behave!" Iruka gave a most unseemingly scream when the smell of burnt sausages jerked him out of the haze of desire. Kakashi merely chuckled as he released Iruka and sat back on his chair. He then proceeded to unsettle Iruka by staring none-so-politely at Iruka's tight little ass while the disgruntled chuunin tried to salvage breakfast.

Tuesday night: Kakashi offered to comb the tangles out of Iruka's hair. His deft fingers had strayed from the thick mass of cholocate-coloured hair to the smooth bronze coloured skin on Iruka's nape and shoulders. Iruka had sighed in pleasure as those skillful hands worked wonders on the knotted muscles on his tired neck and shoulders until a hot and wet tongue had teased the sensitive spot behind his ear.

"Kakashi!"

Thursday morning: Kakashi had tackled Iruka to the ground when Iruka had gotten fed up at being ignored over a"dirty and pervetic book" and had yanked it out of Kakashi's hands. Kakashi had retaliated by tickling Iruka mercilessly and the duo had ended up on the floor of the apartment. "Ah... no! No! Not... an... any... more!" Iruka squirmed, pleaded and threatened amid breathless laughter and tears. Kakashi, delighted at having bested the stuffy-think-I'm-so-smart chuunin, had gone rock hard when the soft body had moved restlessly beneath him. The "battle" had ended in one hot and steamy kiss.

Saturday: The air between them practically crackled with electricity. The looks Kakashi gave Iruka were boredness layered with intese desire. Every accidental touch between them burned the flesh as if on fire. Both suffered from a hard on that no amount of cold showers could rectify.

"Say yes, Iruka, say yes." Kakashi murmured softly into Iruka's ear as he captured the teacher from behind, wrapping his strong arms around Iruka's trim waist.

"Kakashi?" Iruka awoke abruptly, half marked papers strewn across the table top. Kakashi's warm presence surrounded him, offering him security. Iruka relished at being held for a quiet moment before prying himself away.

"Let me be your lover, Iruka..."

"You know I can't, you know why..."

"No, I don't know. Why? Are you scared?"

"Who said I was?"

"Then why don't you dare to find out what's between us?"

At a loss for words,Iruka was silent. Kakashi came to sit in the chair opposite him. His face expressionless, almost bored. Perfect for concealing the hurt he did not wish Iruka to see. It was a hurt he was keeping even from himself.

Iruka was afraid, yes, he was very afraid. Afraid of what Kakashi could make him feel. Afraid that he could so easily fall for this cold assassin, this pervetic jerk who was always late. In front of Kakashi, Iruka had no denfeses, no plan B. He was afraid that he would fall for him, and that it would be a hard fall, with no one to catch him at the bottom.

Kakashi picked up the calendar on Iruka's desk. It was labelled with many red circles and neat lines of black words. He looked at May 26. It was circled with a red marker and labelled neatly in black ink "Naruto's birthday." Beneath it, in a smaller untidy scrawl (probably Naruto's) were the words, "Iruka's birthday!"

Kakashi's eye(s) narrowed. _Jerk. He didn't even tell me his birthday was tomorrow_."Oi, Iruka-sensei.. when are you going to tell me that your birthday is tomorrow?"

* * *

"Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday to Iruka.. Happy birthday to you... "

"Quick! Quick! Iruka make a wish!" Anko urged, slapping Iruka on his back and producing a pained look on his face.

"No need to hit the young man so hard." Ibiki commented, slightly amused as Iruka hastily made a wish and began to cut the cake.

"Our Iruka is all grown up!"(sniffs) "Oh hail the youths of Konoha! May the fire of youth burn forever in you!" Gai proclaimed loudly.

Beside him, Asuma sweat-dropped while Kurenai gave a resigned sigh.

"Let the sake flow! My treat tonight!" Tsunade announced generously as she gulped down her tenth cup of sake.

"Tsunade-sama..." Shizune warned disapprovingly. Turning to Iruka, she bestowed him with a lovely smile. "Happy birthday Iruka-sensei."

They were at a restaurant owned by a good friend of Anko. When Kakashi had approached Anko regarding Iruka's birthday, Anko had gleefully whipped up a 'surprise party'. The result was 10 over odd shinobi gathered in one crowded room in the restaurant with Iruka being uncomfortably the center of attention. All invited were Iruka's good friends; either fellow colleagues or friends he had 'picked up' along the way.

Everyone here genuinely cared for Iruka and Iruka knew he could count on all of them to be his true friends. He should have felt ecstatic. He should have felt touched by their efforts. He should have been overjoyed. But even as he plastered a fake smile to his face, he couldn't quite ignore the hole in his life that had become achingly apparent tonight.

The culprit of this event stood slightly apart from the rest, watching as food, sake, chatter and laughter flowed freely on his happy occasion. He hoped his efforts and good intentions would relieve the load from Iruka's mind. But judging from the amount of sake Iruka had consumed, it was not working.

In the lively atmosphere, Iruka chatted amiably to everyone. He smiled, he teased, he flirted. He drank cup after cup of sake. _All my friends are here to celebrate my birthday with me. Today is my birthday, it's a happy day... a happy day... _Through the haze of liqour and chatter, Iruka tried very hard to convince himself that he was happy.

"I'll see him home." Kakashi propped a semi-conscious Iruka against him as he waved goodnight to Shizune and Kurenai, the only two sober people around. The rest were indisposed at this moment.

Kurenai worried her bottom lip. "Iruka-san doesn't usually drink so much." She smoothed Iruka's hair gently. Placing one small hand on Kakashi's arms, she beseeched him with trusting eyes "Take care of him, will you?"

"Of course." Kakashi smiled before spiriting away with Iruka undertow. Although he had recovered from his injuries, his stamina had yet to return and Kakashi was slightly out of breath by the time he reached Iruka's apartment.

Kakashi laid the now unconscious chuunin on the bed. Deftly, he removed all contrapments and outer jackets and shirts, leaving Iruka in his underclothings only. Grabbing a towel from the bathroom, Kakashi gave Iruka a cursory wipe down, finishing the job quickly as he tried to ignore the warm, tanned skin beneath his fingers. Kakashi gently tucked Iruka into bed, pressing a soft kiss on his forehead before leaving to retire to his bed.

* * *

Kakashi awoke in the middle of the night. His hand snaked out to grab a kunai from below the bed. Listening intently, he heard a muffled curse coming from the kitchen that was identified as Iruka.

Kakashi's hand relaxed.

Iruka swore as the splitting headache caused him to misjudge in the darkness and stub his toe against the fridge. He finally found the aspirin and quickly swallowed two, hoping for instant relief.

_I drank too much... I don't remember the trip back home... It must have been Kakashi who brought me back. He... he undressed me? Blushing in the darkness, _Iruka gingerly checked himself but detected no soreness. _Thank goodness he played the perfect role of an honorable gentleman._

Iruka donned a large coat and made his way to the roof. Cold May wind blew around him, causing him to pull the coat closer around him. Iruka sat atop the roof, facing the direction of the imminent sunrise. The sky was still dark, with nary a cloud, few stars and a half-full moon hanging brightly in the sky.

Iruka sat with his knees pulled close to him, chin resting on knees and arms around his legs.

It was cold. The wind attacked him constantly. In the quiet of the night (or early morning, depending on how you looked at it), Iruka could very well believe that he was the only person awake in this lonely night.

_Naruto... where are you? Are you training well with Jiraiya? I hope he taught you many new skills. _"Happy birthday Naruto." Iruka spoke into the howling wind. "I wonder if Jiraiya knows. How did you celebrate your birthday this year? Do you still carry that pendant I gave you last year? You should, because it is supposed to protect you. Remember how we used to celebrate our birthdays together? Just the two of us. Every year we'll go splurge on something, then we'll go to someplace new, and at night we'll have a feast, although you being you.. you always ate ramen."

Images of Naruto eating ramen flashed across his mind. Staring out into the night, Iruka could almost see Naruto's grinning face waving at him, jumping up at him saying "Ano-sa! Ano-sa!". With a start, Iruka realized that tears had spilled over onto his cheeks.

"Naruto... do you ever wonder about Sakura and Sasuke? Sakura is growing prettier and stronger everyday. She's going to become a great shinobi."

_Sasuke... _Iruka remembered the card Sasuke had given him on teacher's day. It was a simple handmade card that bore only four words. "Thank you, signed: Sauske". Yet Iruka treasured that simple card that carried great depths. _"Sasuke.. do you ever think back on your life in Konoha? Do you ever think of Naruto? Of Sakura? Do you ever regret?"_

The tears were flowing freely now, stinging cold on his face in the harsh wind.

"Sandaime!" _I remember what you always say to me, to find the people I love and treasure them, love them and then do whatever I can to always protect them. This was your ninja code and you've lived true to it, but... but..._

"We all miss you!"

Iruka was not happy. No matter how much he tried to bluff himself, the hole in his life could not be filled. What was a birthday without the people you love most? His favourite students, Sasuke, Sakura. His mentor, teacher, friend, Sandaime. His brother and almost nearly son, Naruto...

Iruka buried his face as silent sobs wrecked his body. Around him, the wind howled, lashing and spitting out as if in agony.

Iruka wept silently, letting all the longings inside of him, all the grief flowed away with the tears.He cried till there were no more tears to be shed.Lifting swollen eyes to the horizon, he could just make out the first colours of dawn.

Irukastayed silent for a few moments, waiting to see the first ray of sunlight pierce through the monotonous dark sky, the beginning of a new day of hope.

"Kakashi-sensei... what is it that you want?" Iruka croaked out, still staring intently at the sky.

If Kakashi was surprised that Iruka had felt his presence, he did not show it.

"To keep you company. To prevent you from doing foolish things."

Iruka snorted, or at least tried to. "I'm a teacher for heavens sake. Don't you think I'll be sensible enough?"

Kakashi moved silently to stand behind Iruka. "You miss them."

Iruka lowered his eyes. "Yes, I do... I miss them so much it hurts... " The confession came out in a whisper.

Kakashi stood there helplessly. He knew what ailed Iruka, he knew the cause to Iruka's tears, yet he knew not what to do.

"It's okay, Kakashi-sensei. I'm alright now. I miss them, but crying helps. And no matter how sad I am before that, I only have to look at the sunrise and I know that there is still hope and much more love left in this world." Iruka stood up to face Kakashi, his eyes still swollen and red from crying.

Iruka managed a weak smile. "I believe that someday Naruto and Sasuke will come back to Konoha and I know that all that Sandaime and my parents died for is not in vain. The people of Konoha continue to inherit the fire to protect the people they love. And that is what I believe in."

Kakashi nodded, not sure of what to say at such wise words coming from the young chuunin before him.

"Kakashi-sensei... I doubt you're here to watch sunrise with me... So tell me, really, why is that that you are here?"

This, Kakashi knew how to answer. "Because I want you... I want to be your lover... "

The sun chose at this moment to peak out from the buildings, bathing the sky in orange, yellow and pink light.

Iruka saw the hope in Kakashi's eyes, he saw the promise of pleasure, of desire. He turned back to see the sun bearing hope and joy of a new day, a new beginning.

Iruka turned around to look at Kakashi in the eye. He smiled.

"Yes."

* * *

The end of chapter 7! I could end here, really... but no.. I don't think so... Thank you all for reading until here... this story is harder to get out then I thought, but thank you to all reading and hope you like it! (: 


	8. Iruka is angry

Thank you again one and all for reviewing :) Hiei's Gothic Angel, of course I remember you:) reki-chan, yay! I love vanyel and all the valdemar series! And yes, here I am, continuing the story, all thanks to people like all of you who reviewed and encouraged me to write more :)

Disclaimer: no, I do not own Naruto or any of their characters. I only own the story line. :)

* * *

**Chapter 8**

This was the happiest week of Iruka's life. He couldn't remember another time when he was so blissfully happy and contended.

Kakashi was a demanding lover, often keeping both of them awake until the wee hours of the morning. Kakashi was also a considerate lover, never doing anything that Iruka did not agree with and always bringing Iruka over the edge of desire before crashing down into his own release. But above all, Kakashi was an experienced lover and Iruka was pleasured like he had never before. The lovemaking often ended with Iruka screaming out Kakashi's name.

Kakashi had "moved" into Iruka's bed and they would sleep, cuddled together, with Iruka's head lying on Kakashi's chest and Kakashi's strong thighs trapping Iruka's legs. Iruka was glad that the bed was small. It meant that they could be closer to each other.

"Kakashi?"

"Mmhmm?"

"Kakashi."

"Whaa...?"

"I just wanna know... why me? Why did you choose me? I mean, I'm just a chuunin and I'm sure there are many more handsome and attractive shinobis around."

"Mmhm..." Kakashi opened one sleepy eye. Iruka's touseled hair was soft and silky beneath his fingers. He absentmindedly stroked it as he answered.

"Kakashi...?"

"I don't know. Why? Is it important?"

Iruka stiffened, he didn't know what to say. Did Kakashi think it was important? Of course it was bloody important! There's got to be a reason why Kakashi is sleeping with him! Iruka felt like throttling the jounin. Did the copy-ninja think he was a mere toy? An easy prey? Drat that man! Iruka threw Kakashi a death-threatening stare in the darkness only to realize that the jounin had promptly fallen asleep.

_BAKA!_

Miffed and very insulted, Iruka wriggled his way out of Kakashi's arms and moved to the far end of the bed, (Or as far as he could go) turning his back against Kakashi. He hugged himself as he cursed Kakashi in his head.

But Kakashi was not to be denied his delightful source of warm and pleasure and he instinctively moved closer to Iruka, until Iruka was trapped between the edge of the bed and Kakashi's hard, warm body. Strong arms snaked around Iruka's waist and Iruka was pulled into Kakashi's chest.

"Why you? Because you're so damn attractive you take my breath away."

Iruka stilled.

"Because I love the way you care for Naruto and your students."

Iruka's heart began to relent.

"Because I knew you would be great in bed."

Iruka blushed.

"And... because you are sunshine here to chase away the darkness." Perhaps he sensed that he had said too much, Kakashi added another remark. "Besides, I love the way you respond to me with such _enthusiasm_." Kakashi grinned in the dark.

All previous aminosity against Kakashi vanished and Iruka proceeded to show Kakashi how much _enthusiasm _he had for him.

* * *

"Now, be on your best behaviour today." Iruka instructed sternly. 

"No tricks, no funny approaches, just be GOOD."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow."Iruka-sensei, why would you think I will not be on my best behaviour? Don't worry, I will only sneak a kiss when nobody's looking."

"YOU WILL NOT!" Iruka's face puffed red with anger and embarrassment.

Kakashi hid a grin behind his mask. "Saa... we better go, or I'll be late for the meeting with Tsunade."

"For once the great ninja Kakashi will be on time. Will wonders ever cease?" Iruka raised his hands and asked the ceiling in mock surprise

* * *

"You're 2 hours late, Kakashi." Tsunade remarked, not at all pleased by the jounin slumped in front of him.

"I... I can explain." Iruka stammered, trying to resolve the situation before him.

"No need, Iruka, he deliberately misled you."

"Did I? Iruka-sensei just assumed the meeting was at two in the afternoon."

"And you did nothing to correct him! Maybe you would have liked to tell Iruka before hand! So that instead of sauntering in here at two, you would be here, PUNCTUALLY at 12!" Tsuande thundered, the force of her words blowing Kakashi's hair back.

Kakashi winced. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to tease the hokage after all...

"Iie, I have better things to do then to get angry over you." Having vented her frustration in that one yell, Tsunade recovered her composure.

"So, Iruka, how has Kakashi been?"

Iruka, glad that a major disaster had been averted, quickly gave a short summary on Kakashi's progress.

"Good, I see that you're recovering fast. At least you're not tensai ninja for nothing."

Kakashi declined to comment.

"About what I talked to you..." Tsunade inclined her head towards Iruka, silently asking if Kakashi was alright with Iruka knowing what's going on.

Kakashi gave a small nod. Iruka who saw that silent exchange was bewildered, but waited patiently for the mystery to reveal itself.

"Before I say anything else, Kakashi, I want you back for your duties next week. I've a mission for you."

Kakashi raised one eyebrow in question, but otherwise remained expressionless. It was Iruka who had a major reaction. "What! Tsunade-sama! You can't do this to Kakashi-sensei. He was seriously injured! He was badly hurt and was still recovering not so long ago..."

"Was. Even you said it yourself. 'Was', past tense. What happened happen in the past. And I did not ask for a comment. What the Hokage commands, the shinobi has to follow. I'm sure you understand it more then I do."

And Iruka did. Of course he did. He was the one to drill it in the heads of the young children at the academy. Shinobi. Everyone aspired to be a Shinobi, yet few understood the sacrifices and loss that each Shinobi had to undergo. Iruka could try very hard to teach them all they needed to know to become a good Shinobi, but ultimately their path would be decided by them themselves and often, the Hokage.

"Kakashi, I've gotten some more intelligence from Jiraya's snooping arounds." Iruka snapped out of his musings and listened interestedly. "I told him about that incident with the scroll and asked him to look into it. So far he hasn't been able to get much but I'll just brief you on what we've found out. By the way, Naruto sends his love to you, Iruka and he would like to remind you, Kakashi that reading those pervetic books cannot be any good for your education."

Kakashi "hmpfed" while Iruka tried to look unaffected. But secretly, both were glad that Naruto was safe and sound with Jiraya.

"I've also given the scroll much looking over and I've tried to piece the bits of information together. Basically the story is like this.

We know that Sasuke left Konoha to find Orochimaru, but we have no evidence that Sasuke IS with Orochimaru now. I believe that Sasuke had NOT been with Orochimaru all these while. We know that Orochimaru wants to use Sasuke as he next body, and even though his current body may be functional, it isn't the optimum. And if I remember that old snake well, he's getting impatient."

"So all these things... how are they related to me?" Kakashi asked.

"Orochimaru is afraid that he would not be able to get Sasuke and therefore he's going for the next best thing. It seems like every Sharingan has its own special function. And yours, Kakashi is to 'copy'. The scroll contains specific instructions on medical jutsus, especially those regarding operations. My guess is that Orochimaru intends to implant your Sharingan into his own body, and at the same time, transfer all the jutsus you've learnt into his own brain. In this way, he can copy all the jutsus he wants and fulfill his ambition."

There was silence in the room. Tsunade let Kakashi absorbed this frightening news. As usual, he took it with a shrug, as if it did not matter to him. But Tsunade knew better. Iruka for that matter, looked absolutely furious. His fists were clenched at his sides and his face was thunderous.

"My mission is related to this."

A statement, not a question.

"Very good, Kakashi. You really are a tensai to be able to read minds. Yes, this would be the best time to tackle Orochimaru and do what Sarutobi-sensei had not been able to fulfill. Using you as a bait, we will take Orochimaru down once and for all."

* * *

After walking for a long while, Kakashi decided that Iruka was not happy. Something was bothering his Iruka and it was affecting Kakashi. For a start, Iruka was ignoring him. Since leaving the meeting with Tsunade, Iruka had not uttered a single phrase and had walked ahead of Kakashi, not caring if Kakashi had followed. Kakashi did not like to be ignored. 

Iruka was mad. Oh yes, he was very very mad. The anger was slowly simmering inside him, building higher and higher... all ready to burst. Unknowingly, he had walked to the memorial stone at the edge of the forest. Soft footsteps behind told him that Kakashi had followed till here.

"Ruka... what's wrong with you?"

"Don't call me that!"

"?" Confusion was etched upon Kakashi's face.

"You bastard! When were you going to tell me about Orochimaru? How long were you going to keep me in the dark? Did you ever intend on telling me!" As if the pressure in him had all been released, Iruka launched himself onto Kakashi, attacking frenzily.

"You (_punch)_

pig- (_kick)_

headed- (_shove)_

asshole! (_slap)_ "

Kakashi defended himself valiantly, but was taken aback by Iruka's sudden attack. He finally caught Iruka's wrists and flipped him around, pinning him onto the soft grass with his body. He held Iruka's wrists together above him.

Iruka breathed heavily, staring at his masked lover in front of him. All the tension and anger flowed out of him onto the ground and his body slumped onto the ground.

"Kakashi... I'm... I'm so... sorry... Did I... did I... are you hurt anywhere?"

Kakashi shook his head twice. _No._ His face unreadable as he slowly released his hold on Iruka.

"Oh, Kakashi..." Iruka cradled Kakashi's face with trembling hands. "I... I... why didn't you tell me about Orochimaru before. Did you think I wouldn't care? He's after your life for heaven's sakes. As your lover I should be the first to know what's going to happen to you..."

"It's not important."

His forlorn voice sounded so lonely to Iruka. How long ago had it been that Kakashi had someone to trust, to rely on? Hatake Kakashi, copy-cat tensai ninja, one of the strongest shinobis in Konoha. So many people relied on Kakashi for help, but who had Kakashi to go to when he was troubled? Iruka's heart broke a little for Kakashi.

"It's important to me. You could be killed anytime. Do you think I wouldn't like to know?"

Kakashi stared at Iruka long and hard. He seemed to be contemplating something. "I won't be killed by a psycho-maniac. But..." Kakashi looked away. "If, what if I were to perish during the mission... would you miss me?"

"No... don't say that. You must come back, you will keep yourself safe and come back.. or else.. or else..."

"Hush..." Kakashi took off his mask and lowered his mouth to Iruka's. "Le't just concentrate on the present, on now."

Iruka lifted his head to find Kakashi's mouth and they fused together in one hungry, passioante kiss. It wasn't long before Iruka was writhing under Kakashi, begging for release. They made love intensely, fiercely, clinging to each other as if there was no tommorrow, living only for the present and treasuring every sweet ecstacy they shared with each other.

* * *

"Another one of Konoha's shinobi." 

"You can have him." Kabuto smiled at his aide. His eyes, however, remained cold and cruel. They had set the trap and the bait, it was time to wait to see if Konoha would spring the trap. This cat and mouse game was becoming more and more interesting.

"Orochimaru-sama, the information has already been planted. They would have received it by now."

"Good, Kabuto-san. Who knows, I may yet overlook the blunder you made with Kakashi and the scroll."

"Then I thank you first, Orichimaru-sama."

Orochimaru smiled. The game had just begun.

* * *

end of chapter 8! hope you enjoyed reading (: 


	9. Leaving

Thank you to: **Hiei's Gothic Angel, Komikitty, RukaIayLomperGay, ruka-kun, dk-joy, Zezura, Turin, anni-may, Xeora, kakashidiot, Krows Scared, Karaji, kit, souna no hime, MetAciDe, Sunshine Pie, Kadiya, PinkScales, CuriousDreamWeaver** for taking the time to reveiw chapters 7 and 8.

and thank you to everyone for patiently waiting for this chapter to be out. It's long overdue in appearing and I'm really really sorry for having taken my own sweet time with it.

Disclaimer: never owned anything of Naruto

* * *

**Chapter 9**

Dawn was breaking. In the dark shady forests of Konoha, Kakashi was training. Kakashi took himself through a set of exercises, gently stretching his taut muscles. Then, his actions changed.His movements became more aggressive, faster, until he was a blur of green and black attacking at the rapidly fading shadows. And then they slowed, gentled, becoming more like flexible water, executing the moves with ease and fluidity, until at last, Kakashi stood still, his taijutsu practice completed.

In the distance a cock crowed and a particular someone awoke with a heavy heart.

Iruka sat up abruptly. His forehead drenched in sweat. _It's alright, it's only a nightmare. _

He had dreamed of finding his lover drenched in blood, screaming away while he watched helplessly. _Kakashi..._ The space beside him was cold and empty, devoid of all the warmth and passion they had previously shared. Iruka wrapped his face in his hands, a foreboding feeling welling up inside him. _Kakashi's leaving today..._

* * *

"Iruka." 

"Kakashi! Have you had breakfast yet?" Iruka was preparing breakfast in the kitchen when Kakashi appeared at the doorway. "I'm making your favourite..." Iruka stopped short at the cold hard glare in Kakashi's eyes.

In three strides Kakashi had the teacher in his arms, his mouth, his hands. He kissed Iruka fiercely, driven by desire and desperation. A desire to mark this chuunin his and keep him forever and a desperation to leave before he could hurt Iruka more. "Forget about me." Kakashi whispered in Iruka's ear.

"What?" Dazed by the kiss, Iruka looked up, bewildered.

"I said forget about me!" Kakashi thundered. The jounin turned away, averting his gaze from Iruka.

"Forget about me, forget about us. This mission... who knows what will happen. Best that you forget about me before anything happens. You're a good person Iruka, you deserve better."

"No" Iruka shook his head in disbelief. "No! How can you just walk away from all this? I thought you cared for me, I though we had something together? I thought you loved me."

"Love? Do you think this is love then?" Kakashi turned around and forced his lips down on Iruka. His tongue sought entry into Iruka's sweet mouth. It was a kiss meant to punish, to conquer. But Iruka melted into his arms, unperturbed by the bruising conquest. Iruka sighed.

"If this is love to you, then it must be so, Kakashi.. I can't forget you, just like you can never forget me."

Kakashi stiffened; he stood, ramrod straight, his expression cold and closed. "You think too highly of yourself. I can forget you as easily as all the other whores I've taken." With that, he walked right out of the apartment, right out of Iruka's life.

Iruka reeled back, stunned. He looked at the retreating back in disbelief. "Get out! Get the hell out you bastard!" But Kakashi was already gone. Iruka crumpled onto the floor. _How did things turn out this way?_ Just a while ago he was snug and warm in Kakashi's arms... _Kakashi you big fat idiot... Why did you push me away like this... _Tears fell uncontrollably as the pancakes sizzled and blackened in the pan.

Kakashi felt his heart splintering inside him. He almost doubled over with the pain. Pausing in his stride, he let coldness overtake his body. The frost gradually seeped into his bones, the cold numbing the pain insidehim.

He'd done it. Walking away from Iruka was the hardest thing he had ever had to do, and he'd done it. It was all that he could do. He had to walk away before he destroyed Iruka even more. Nails dug into his palm, but the numbness took that pain away too.

Iruka was a mistake from the start. Yet, Kakashi had led himself believe in the lie. That he could escape his demons and live a happily ever after like any normal person. He was wrong. He, Hatake Kakashi, not for the first time was wrong.

He could never provide Iruka security and comfort. He could never provide Iruka with a future. And Iruka deserved more, Iruka deserved more then him,a worthless soldier. Kakashi was a fighter constantly on the battlefield. For him, there is no future, only the haunting deeds from the past and the cold cruel present.

Kakashi knew what it was like to grieve. He'd done that too many a times and damn if he'll let Iruka live through that. Better to severe all ties and shorten the grief then let Iruka mourn about the 'could have beens' if they had stayed together...

Kakashi's head hurt. It hurt like hell. Kakashi pushed away images of Iruka and surrendered himself to the cold. His chances of survival on this mission were slim. But killing Orochimaru would be a worthy sacrifice. Perhaps his name would be carved there, together with Sandaime, his sensei, Obito...

* * *

"You ready to go?" Tsunade inquired. Her astute eyes taking in the haunted piercing gaze. 

"Anytime," Kakashi replied.

"Right. Last we heard, Orochimaru's lair is found around here. Remember that the first strategy is bait. You have the equipment?"

"Yes," came the curt reply.

Inwardly, Tsunade sighed. Kakashi had switched to the cold heartless fighter mode. And while it did increase his strength and prowess, it turned him into an unfeeling machine. The chilling look he gave held no signs of warmth that were so evident in his eyes the past few weeks. "Then I wish you good luck. We will come as soon as you call for us."

Kakashi nodded and turned to leave.

"And Kakashi... a shinobi may not have the choice in deciding what path to walk. But what sets aside heros from villains is the way they choose to walk it."

Kakashi stood in midstride, a flicker of light shone in his eyes.

"I know you blame yourself for the deaths of those you love. But it's not your fault. They choose how they wish to walk the path and you must find yours too. Believe me, your father would have been very proud of who you've become." With that, Tsunade placed a kiss on Kakashi's hitai-ate.

"Watch your back."

For a moment, Kakashi's gaze soften and he was about to say something, but evidently thought against it. Kakashi nodded and then sped out through the window, darting across the rooftops.

Tsunade's eyes glittered with tears as she stared out at the afternoon sun hanging overhead.

* * *

Kakashi landed on the tree with a soft thud. 

_Another victim._

Said victim lay sprawled on the ground. Kakashi knew withoutinspecting the body, what he would find. The victim would have his throat slit and his left eye gouged out, just like the five other similar bodies that had similarly littered his path since he had ventured into the vicinity.

It was, Kakashi thought, probably Orochimaru's sadistic way of saying "hello".

But this time there was something different. A note had been left on the ground beside the dead man. Having checked that there was no one else around, Kakashi lept lightly onto the ground.

It read: _More will be sacrificed._

The note combusted as the cold anger in Kakashi flared.

_Damn. Damn Orochimaru to hell. _

Kakashi knelt down beside the corpse. The poor guy wasn't even half a day dead. That meant that Orochimaru and his lackeys had to be close by. Kakashi gave the victims a cursory prayer, like the ones he'd given the rest before heleapt off once again.

This time he was sure he would find him. That note had given him all the clues he needed: the unmistakenable scent of Sakura flowers... there was just one place around that would fit the description and Kakashi knew just the place.

* * *

"He's coming." 

"He's late and long overdue."

"He'll be here just in time."

"You'd better make sure it is so."

"He wouldn't have ignored such a blatant clue."

"He's been dumb enough so far."

"Which is good for us isn't it? You should rest more, Orochimaru-sama, rest your body well, and prepare for the next task."

"He'd better hurry."

* * *

An abandoned hut stood in the midst of the forest of sakura trees. Thousands of petals blanketed the ground, the air was shrouded in a mist of sweetness. 

_This is it. _

Kakashi carefully surveyed the surroundings, wary for any traps. There were, seemingly, none. The hut seemed quiet and devoid of life. Kakashi carefully pushed open the wooden door, tensing as it creaked loudly in the night.

Moonlight filtered in through the broken windows. The room was empty, save for a dusty table, two broken chairs and layers of cobwebs.

Kakashi moved stealthily around the house, poking around, silently observing, until he found what he was looking for. There, at the far corner of the room, was a small area on the floor that looked cleaner and less dusty then the rest. Gingerly, he felt around the wooden floor boards before finding a small latch. He pulled.

The floor gave way to a hole big enough for two grownmen to fall through. Kakashi slowly felt his way around and found that there were stone steps leading downwards. Kakashi made his way down cautiously, pausing now and then to inspect the area. Suddenly, he stopped and vaulted up, tapering himself to the stone cold ceiling above.

Minutes passed, then two men carrying torches descended and entered the stairways. Kakashi didn't recognize them but he damn well recognized the faint waft of smell on them.

So did Pakkun for that matter.

"Ugh." he complained bitterly once the two men had gone behind the heavy wooden door that was at the bottom of the stairs. "I hate the smell of snakes. It's so potent and it takes so long to fade."

"So what are your plans now?" Pakkun asked, hopping onto Kakashi's head much to the jounin's annoyance.

"Eat, think, sleep." was Kakashi's curt reply as he quickly climbed out of the stone tunnel into the cold crisp air.

"That's no way to talk to your elder, young man!" Pakkun thumped hard on Kakashi's head, at which Kakashi gave a fierce snarl at that irritating creature sitting happily on his beautiful mop of silver hair. "But I forgive you since you're obviously in a bad mood because you miss him."

Kakashi made a non-committal reply as he jumped up on a sakura tree bough. _Large tree, lot's of Sakura to hide me,tall too, so I'll have a great view of the surrounding, I'll just wake up smelling like a girl..."_

Hell, who was he kidding? Kakashi was trying his hardest to put Iruka out of his mind, but it was not working. Iruka's tormented face haunted him. Hopping down from his head, Pakkun gave a mournful sigh. "Never though I'll see the day when Kakashi gets hit by cupid's arrow..." he mumbled to himself.

Kakashi chewed thoughfully at his dried rations, regretfully letting the image of a happy Iruka fade from his mind. Now wasn't the time to be distracted. He had a misson to accomplish. Orochimaru was toying with him... He was deliberately leading Kakashi on a wild goose chase. But Kakashi had no choice but to play right into his hands because the 'location' that Jiraiya had given was vague at best. No matter, it was high time someone put a stop to Orochimaru's activities.

Not forgetting Kakashi had several personal debts to settle with Orochimaru. _Sasuke..._

But was Orochimaru really there... or was it a well placed trap?

"He's there alright. I just don't know what he's up to right now." Pakkun interjected, as if reading his thoughts.

Kakashi nodded in the dark. _Right. Time to alert some people._ He quickly called out one of his nin-dogs and wrote a short note to Tsunade before sending it running off to Konoha.

That done, Kakashi promptly fell into a light sleep, with Pakkun cuddled on his abdomen, a poor substitute for the brown-haired chuunin that had until recently occupied that place.

Kakashi slept fitfully.

* * *

"He knows we're here." 

"Good."

"He'll have warned them."

"As expected."

"He'll venture here tomorrow."

"Perfect, everything ready?"

"Of course, we're now only awaiting his arrival."

"Wait... it would not do for us to be impolite, why don't you extend to him our _warmest _welcome?"

"I see, if that is your wish, Orochimaru-sama."

"See that it is done."

* * *

Thanks for reading until here, review if you wish. 


	10. Discovery

This chapter is dedicated to **Mirai-Kung**, thank you for being a saviour and recovering chapter 7 so the story could continue. (:

Thank you...

**Komikitty**, yes I finally updated, many thx to ur reviews that got me started writing.  
**Erisabesu**,I never knew pancakes can be poetic!  
**Yit-ha**, warmest person? Didn't I write warmest welcome? correct me if I'm wrong.  
**Loveless Angel**, yep, and I think it's going to get more angsty  
**Ailise**, is my grammar really bad? oops! I guess Iinvented a few phrases and rules that don't exist in the English world. Do tell me if my English becomes really terrible. Thanks!  
**ruka-kun, **thank you for reviewing all the way!

Hm... somehow I think this chapter is quite irrelevant, it feels more like a filler then anything else. Read on and be the judge.

**

* * *

****Chapter 10**

"Hokage-sama."

"Iruka, you wanted to see me?"

"Hai."

"About a matter of utmost urgency?"

"Hai."

"Hn. I presume it is about Kakashi."

A faint blush appeared on the chuunin's cheeks.

"Hai... I hope... no, I want you to put me into the Kakashi misson." Iruka said with conviction

Tsunade raised an eyebrow and waited for Iruka to continue.

Iruka shrugged. "I... I guessed that you won't be letting Kakashi face Orochimaru alone. You'll be wanting to send a team of reinforcements after him and I want to be included."

Tsunade stared hard at the ardent young man before her. _The young are always so impulsive, so foolhardy... _

"No."

"I have my reasons!" Iruka cried, "Very good reasons!"

"No!" Tsunade banged her palms down on the desk, stood up and paced the room.

"You're too deeply involved with Kakashi, I can't risk having you take your emotions to battle. Besides, need I remind you that this is an S class misson and that you're only a chuunin?"

"I know." Iruka murmured softly. "That is precisely why you have to let me go!" This time, there was steel in Iruka's voice. "I know I'm only a chuunin, but _you _know why I chose to remain a chuunin don't you? You remember my parents, right?"

Tsunade turned away from this chuunin, letting worry crease her forehead. It seemed not so long ago when she was looking into the faces of two very loving and skilled shinobi... _Iruka looks so like his father, but he has his mother's complexion... _

Iruka's parents had always kept a very low profile in Konoha. They appeared to their neighbours as friendly, loving but always very isolated from the large boisterous community that they lived in. They wanted nothing more then to lead a normal life and raise Iruka as a normal kid.

And yet, when the Kyuubi attacks came, they were one of the first few to step out to fight. When Konoha was threathened, they willingly and quickly shed their everyday garb and donned the role of Konoha's elite.

They were shinobi. Some of the most skilled shinobi in Konoha. All they ever wanted was to raise their young son in peace, but the Kyuubi's arrival had changed all of that. Being powerful ninjas, they had responsibilities and that responsibility weighed on them.

And so they went willingly. They went to battle with a heavy heart, leaving behind the pleas and tears of the son that they loved so much and would do anything to protect. They knew the odds, they knew that battles were like gambles. Only the stakes are much higher in battles and you pit not money, but life against death.

It was because they were shinobi. And as a shinobi you had responsibilities that you can never run away from. So they gambled, and finally, their luck ran out and they lost to death.

"They didn't want you to be a ninja... "Tsunade said sadly.

"They didn't want you risking your life, they didn't want you burdened by that responsibility."

"But this isn't how it works. Being a shinobi is a calling, a destiny, you can't ignore it." Iruka said passionately.

Yes, Iruka had wanted to become a shinobi despite his parents' protests. As a young child, his parents had never allowed him much contact with other shinobi and they were always trying to convince him that a ninja had no future, no glam and not worth pursuing.

But when Iruka saw the dead remains of his parents, he vowed from then on to continue what his parents had sought to do - protect Konoha. Iruka loved Konoha, but more importantly, the blood that ran through his veins screamed out for him to rise to become a ninja.

But Iruka had come to a compromise between the wishes of his parents and his path in life. He would be a shinobi, but he'll go no further then a chuunin. That way, he'll be more dispensable, less important, more kept away from the responsibilities that had so haunted his parents. That was why he had never bothered taking the jounin exams. Iruka was happy to remain a chuunin, a teacher and he saw no reason in wanting the added burden of a jounin title. Were he to become jounin, he would not be able to teach the children that he'd grown to love.

But all these will have to change. He'll have to defy his parents wishes completely now and embrace the skills and talents that his parents had left him with. He had to save the one person who meant the most to him now.

"It's time I stop hiding behind the chuunin label and do my part for Konoha." Iruka said determinedly.

Tsunade snorted. "For Kakashi or for Konoha?" Shaking her head wryly at Iruka's quick blush, she continued, "But your skills..."

"I've been training."

"Oh? Really? Show me then?" Tsunade's curiosity was pricked.

-

Minutes later, Tsunade stared at Iruka with a mixture of awe and exasperation. "That was a fantastic display of the jutsu, but look at the room right now! It's a total mess! It's a wonder you didn't blow the roof away with it!"

Iruka grinned a little sheepishly, "Sorry, hokage-sama, I guess I got a little carried away. So... will that do?"

"I most certainly have no doubts about your skills now, however, there remains the question about your relationship with Kakashi. I'm afriad that..."

"You think it'll cloud my judgement?"

"Exactly."

Iruka seemed to mull over something. "I didn't want to tell you this, but I guess I have to now."

"Tell me what?"

"It's just a feeling, but after... after we erm... got close..."

"You mean after you all had great sex together?" Tsunade supplied for him. "Hell, Iruka! I'm not a sixteen year old innocent, there's no need to go all embarrassed around me."

"Right, yes, you're right," Iruka had now blushed a deep red. "Anyway, it seems that if I concentrate hard enough, I can sense where Kakashi is, and sometimes even how he's feeling or what he's thinking about at the moment."

He had her full attention now. Tsunade nodded, waiting for him to go on.

"I don't know if I'm the only one feeling it or he feels it too... and I can't tell exactly _where_ he is, only vague directions such as North, South, East or West... and I most certainly can't read his thoughts. It's only when he sends out very strong messages or emotions that I feel it."

"You can sense Kakashi all the time?"

"Yes... no... not exactly. It just seems that he's always there in my subconscious, but when he feels very extreme about something, I feel it, however, I need a certain amount of concentration to hazard a guess on his approximate location."

Tsunade pondered over this new discovery. _This puts a twist to things_. She'd heard of such bonds that had existed between twins before... but between lovers? This was the first she'd ever heard of... was it possible that lovers could have such a strong and unique bond too? Unless Iruka was lying? _But Iruka doesn't lie..._

"So based on what you can sense, where do you think Kakashi is now?"

Iruka was quiet for a while, seemingly concentrating on 'finding' Kakashi. A minute or so later, he looked up and shrugged helplessly. "I don't know exactly where he is, but I would say he's somewhere towards Northeast."

_Bingo._ So Iruka was telling the truth. Kakashi's mission had been highly confidential and Iruka would have no idea beforehand where Kakashi was sent to.

Tsunade heaved a big sigh. She didn't like this job. Why did she always have to act the bad guy and send people off on dangerous missons. _Because you're Godaime stupid. Damn... The children will be disappointed to have their favourite teacher taken away from them. Not that they will show it, oh, they'll have a big party and celebrate Iruka's absence, but they would be silently looking forward to his return._

"Alright alright. Since you're so adamant on joining the team, I'll let you do what you want. Return here tomorrow morning and I'll brief you on the details."

"Thank you Hokage-sama!" Iruka bowed deeply. Relief spreading over his face. He hated sitting at home waiting for news about Kakashi. At least now that he was involved he didn't feel so helpless. Maybe now the nightmares of Kakashi being locked, chained and beatened will cease their torment on him.

Iruka turned to leave.

"Oh, and another thing."

"Yes, Hokage-sama?"

"Don't think that just because you have the capabilities of a jounin now that you'll be excused from teaching. Once all this blows over I want you back in the academy."

Iruka broke out into a wide smile.

"Certainly ma'am!"

Tsunade gave a small grin. It was the least she could do for him.

* * *

Dawn chased the moon across the sky. 

Kakashi woke abruptly from his light sleep, hand tensing around his kunai. _Someone was nearby._

Then, a shower of kunais came raining at Kakashi, but Kakashi quickly escaped, leaving behind a log with the kunais thudded into it.

Kakashi had no sooner hidden himself away among sakura flowers when he saw the exploding notes around him begin to erupt. It had been a ploy of the enemy's, the kunais had but been a mere distraction to lure him into the vicinity of the exploding notes.

The five meter radius around Kakashi erupted into bright orange flames, the sakura flowers catching fire easily, turning the place into a cemetery of charred flowers.

But Kakashi had long anticipated something underfoot and had made a clone earlier on. The clone had pretended to lie sleeping while he had kept vigil almost all night, barely catching a wink of sleep.

The Kakashi in the fire had been but a mere clone... If Orochimaru thought so little of him...

The sound of someone coughing hard emerged from the right. Kakashi tensed, watching the smoke clear to reveal the person who had set the trap. _He must be really dumb to stay so close to the trap and risk getting... _

"Iruka?"

Yes, the person standing amid the fire and smoke was definitely Iruka. That same mesmerizing scar, that lithe body, it was unmistakenably Iruka.

_I have to be dreaming. What on earth would Iruka be doing here?_

Iruka... no, the person impersonating Iruka coughed hard into his hands. He looked up and his eyes widened with shock at the sight of Kakashi. "Kakashi!" Then Iruka broke into a wary, watery smile before collapsing into another fit of coughs.

Kakashi resisted the urge to go up and pat him on the back. This guy looked too much like Iruka for comfort. It brought back too many bittersweet memories...

_But wait! This is not Iruka. What would Iruka be doing here? Iruka was safe back at Konoha, this is surely another of Orochimaru's trap... _

"Stay where you are!"

Iruka stopped in his tracks, giving Kakashi a bewildered and hurt look that tore into his heart.

_Stop! This isn't Iruka. If he'd followed me I'd have known. He may look and sound exactly like Iruka but he's NOT Iruka!_

"But... why Kakashi? I thought you only said you didn't love me, you didn't say you hated me like a leper?"

Kakashi ignored the desperate plea in Iruka's voice. "Who sent you? Orochimaru? Where is he? Doesn't he have enough guts to come out and face me alone?"

"I... I don't understand. Nobody sent me, I sent myself to look for you... I thought... I thought we could find Orochimaru together... I just wanted to..."

Iruka broke off and froze when he saw the kunai glinting in Kakashi's hand. "Iruka will willingly die for me." Kakashi bluffed. "If you really are Iruka then put your hands up and don't dodge this kunai." Surely this would bring the pretense to an end...

"You don't believe me, you don't believe I'm Iruka..." Iruka said softly, his sad eyes piercing into Kakashi's heart. Slowly, he raised his hands in the air and closed his eyes.

A slow anger boiled in Kakashi. Orochimaru have no right to mistreat his memory of Iruka like this! Taking aim, he threw the kunai with dead accuracy.

The kunai thudded into Iruka's chest; blood spurted and then soaked into the vest, the darkening stain growing by the second. Iruka wordlessly fell to his knees, his eyes staring accusingly at Kakashi who stood, shocked that the 'enemy' had not avoided that blow.

Doubt crept into Kakashi's heart as the 'enemy' showed no signs of dropping the pretense. Furthermore, the sight of Iruka dying under his kunai was as if he'd stabbed himself with a kunai too. He could almost feel his heart bleeding inside.

"Ka...kashi..." Blood spurted out of Iruka's mouth as he called softly for Kakashi.

Doubt gnawed at Kakashi. Iruka's many profiles flashed through his mind. Iruka smiling, Iruka laughing, Iruka naked on bed, calling for him, Iruka angry, Iruka with tears in his eyes, blood in his mouth...

"Ka... ka...shi... why? Wh...why!" Iruka cried out, tears ran down his face, mixing with the blood from his mouth.

That undid him.

In a heartbeat, Kakashi was beside Iruka, cradling the chuunin in his arms and frantically wiping away the tears and the blood. "I'm sorry.. I'm so sorry... I thought... I thought Orochimaru sent someone to impersonate you. I thought... why... why didn't you dodge?"

"Because... because that is the only way in which you will believe me... " Iruka grinned a little wryly at Kakashi.

"And I'll never have been able to get a chance to do this either!" Lunging suddenly, Iruka plunged a dagger into Kakashi's shoulder, changing as he did to reveal Kabuto.

"Ohiyo, senpai..."

Those were the last words Kakashi heard before down onto the carpet of sakura flowers, cursing himself for having fallen to easily into Kabuto's trap. _Iruka... how had they known about Iruka and me? Iruka... are you safe?_

* * *

Yay! You've come to the end of another chapter! The next few chapters would probably be alot more angsty, since poor Kakashi has landed into Kabuto's hands. Hm.. who knows I may change the ratings yet... 

Please do give your comments on this chapter, cause I can't get over the feeling that it's really crap. Hopefully you can find out what needs improving and I see if I can salvage the chapter. (:


	11. Captured and conned

I apologise for the long absence. Many matters have kept me from continuing this fic. However, I do feel responsible for it and I swear I will not abandon it. So anyway, I'm back for the moment! Yay!

To:  
**Um...a reader:** Thanks for pointing that out. I would go review the manga and anime.  
**Hm...** : Actually I think so too. That's why there's a "probably" in front. And anyway, it is supposed to show the ignorance of the character. Apologies if it had led to wrong impressions.

Thank you to **AloneOutside, anonymous, Crystal Fox, Deviliscious, Weavers, hatakeumino, Sekushi Pug, kirallie, danilion, J.M.Captein, Heosic-chan, Mandy543, tsukiraven, flowing tears, escape5, riotgirl8268, daisukiangel42, komikitty, Gamergirl333, ruka-kun, Keakun, Erisabesu, MeeLee, LingFu, Pink Raine **for reviewing!

* * *

Kakashi dreamed. 

He dreamed of the haunting faces of the dead. In his dream, he saw his father's eyes wide opened as his guts spilled all over the floor; he dreamed of Obito's fiercely determined face changing to one of contempt as he looked at Kakashi; he saw disappointment in Yondaime's eyes, saying, "Why do you always break the teams up?"

But most often, Kakashi dreamed of Iruka's sad brown eyes staring accusingly at Kakashi while blood spilled out of his mouth...

And always, Kakashi could hear the Kabuto's soft mocking laughter in the background.

Time held no meaning. Kakashi drifted in and out of consciousness, his mind was groggy, his body weak. Through the haze of pain and helplessness, he understood that they had drugged him.

At times when his head was clearer, he examined his predicament. His captors hadn't bothered to bind his hands. They didn't need to. The drug they fed him with prevented him from using his chakra. They had chained his ankles though, likely to prevent him from escaping. Not that he could have gone anywhere with his injured shoulder and his body weak from the effects of the drug.

They had put him in a small room that was devoid of any windows and only one door, but had allowed him comfort of a bed. It was chilly and they had removed his shirt and vest along with all other weapons he had. They had also removed his mask. Kakashi felt strangely naked without it. Iruka was the only person whom he felt comfortable enough to show his real face.

Kakashi couldn't and therefore didn't try to escape. Konoha would have received his message of Orochimaru's hideout by now. Kakashi would wait patiently for them to find him and tackle Orochimaru.

Finally there came a time when Kakashi woke up feeling clear-headed (although his body was still weak). Someone was tending to his shoulder wound.

Kakashi couldn't see who the person was, but the deft fingers bandaging his shoulders brought back painful memories of Iruka removing the bandages for him... _that day... that day had been the first time we kissed... _

But as the person lifted his head, Kakashi saw that he was nothing like Iruka...

"Well well.. I see you're awake... senpai." Kabuto leaned back, folding his arms and looking at Kakashi.

Kakashi stared at him lazily, "What does Orochimaru want?"

"What does he want? Why, your Sharingan of course... I'm sure you know it by now... he wants that Sharingan from that precious friend of yours..."

"I will never let Orochimaru get the Sharingan."

"Oh... and what are you going to do? Fight? Don't make me laugh senpai... you can't even fight me in your condition... unless you're going to plead and beg... that might prove amusing to Orochimaru..." Kabuto sneered.

"I will not die without a fight."

Kabuto gave a short laugh. His eyes glinted fiercely. "You will die. It is just a matter of whether you want to go painlessly and peacefully or you want to go screaming all the way to hell... I can make it very easy or very difficult for you..."

Kakashi glared at him, "Go to hell."

Anger flickered briefly in Kabuto's eyes, but was quickly smoothed away and replaced with a face of calm. "Fine." was all that he said.

Kabuto turned to leave.

"Why heal me then? If you will kill me later?" Kakashi called after Kabuto's retreating back.

Kabuto stopped in his tracks. "Because no matter which side we are on, you're still be my senpai." and then he left, leaving Kakashi to ponder over his words.

* * *

Kabuto had watched him from the first day he entered school. 

He was an engima. He was fair skinned but his mood was dark. Handsome but he hid his pretty looks behind a mask. He had both intelligence and skill but he cared not for power. He was young but his eyes were grave beyond his age.

They had so much in common. The same silver hair, the same early loss of childhood innocence, the same intelligence... So alike.

Kabuto was fascinated with his senpai. But then again, so were many other girls and boys. Besides, he never treated Kabuto with more then basic courtesy.

Kakashi's coolness only fired Kabuto's obsession with him.

And so Kabuto watched his senpai. His keen eyes followed Kakashi around, although he never let it known his interest in him.

Kabuto remembered very clearly one stormy night. He'd been on night watch and he'd seen a lone figure trudging through the rain. It turned out to be Kakashi, bleeding from a dozen cuts on his body. Kakashi had been in ANBU that time, but despite the mask, Katubo had known who he was.

Kabuto had seen Kakashi home and had hastily cleaned up the cuts. He was about to leave when the older jounin's hand had snaked around his waist and pulled him close. They had tumbled to bed together and were naked in each other's arms and mouths within minutes. Kabuto understood Kakashi's need. After the close brush with danger,Kakashi needed to feel alive and whole...

He spent the night rocking in Kakashi's arms, teeteering along the edge of esctasy.

_But by the next morning, Kakashi had erased the previous night's events away. He was cool, almost indifferent to Kabuto. And to Kabuto, that was a heavy blow. He'd never really forgiven Kakashi for using him that night and forgetting him so quickly. So Kabuto continued to watch Kakashi, waiting for a moment when Kakashi would finally recognize and remember him._

But Kakashi never did.

It stung. It stung so much to be forgotten by someone who meant so much. But as time passed, Kabuto saw that Kakashi and him weren't quite the same. For while Kakashi was content to hide behind his past and remain as Konoha's lackey, Kabuto was looking forward and setting his sights on becoming more powerful.

And so Kabuto tried to hide his obsession with Kakashi under layers of contempt. But always, no matter how hard Kabuto tried, there was just some mysterious thing in Kakashi that made him so attractive, that made Kabuto want to relive that night together again...

One day, just one day, Kabuto will have the upper hand and he'll make Kakashi his...

* * *

"Orochimaru-sama..." 

"How is he?"

"Very well."

"When can we begin the operation?"

"In a week's time."

"A week you say... you're _sure_ you need a week?"

"Yes, there are things to prepare to ensure that the operation does not go wrong."

"Fine. But make sure you don't dwaddle."

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama."

"If I may ask..."

"What?"

"Why did we have to move? The ANBU that Konoha sent would have no match for us."

"Baka. Do you want me to have to fight so soon after the operation? I'd rather have no disturbance from them. Besides, if Tsunade and Jiraiya were to team up against us... it'll be difficult for us."

"So you let Kakashi believed that to be our hideout so that he could send word back to Konoha and mislead them? And then after capturing him we spirit off to another place... that is wonderfully devious."

"Save your flattery and go work on your preparations."

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama..."

* * *

Kakashi sat in the dark, his thoughts turning often to Iruka. He was glad that he'd left Iruka before he'd come on this mission. He was thankful now that he'd dashed any hopes Iruka could have about their future. Iruka would not have to grieve his loss now, since his last impression of Kakashi would undoubtly have been that Kakashi was a bastard. 

The door swung open and Kakashi's breath stopped short as Iruka stepped through the door. Wordlessly, Iruka walked up to Kakashi and began removing his clothes, until he stood in all naked glory before Kakashi.

Dry mouthed, Kakashi could only stare numbly as Iruka's hand moved to the waistband of Kakashi's trousers. And then it was sliding down lower and lower. Kakashi moaned with pleasure and pulled Iruka's naked body on top of him.

They looked into each other's eyes. No words were needed. Nothing was said.There was only the harsh pants and soft cries of pleasure. In the dark room, they devoured each other and their bodies rocked together as they found the rythm to their release.

---

Kakashi sighed with pleasure in his sleep. He was having the most amazing dream. He'd just dreamed of a glorious night of fantastic sex with Iruka.

Funny... if it was a dream, then why did he feel sore all over? If it was a dream, then why did he feel another body snuggled against him? But it couldn't really have been Iruka... unless Iruka was also captured like him...

Kakashi's eyes flew open.

---

Kabuto woke to find Kakashi's fingers closed around his neck. The captured jounin looked sexy and inviting even with eyes blazing hate and chains shackled around his ankles.

Kabuto realized that his jutsu must have worned off during the night.

"Explain! Why did you pretend to be Iruka? Goddamn you!"

The hand around Kabuto's neck quivered with effort.

"Drop it Kakashi." Kabuto said coolly. "You barely have enough strength to last one night of fucking. You think you can stop me?"

Kakashi's hand shook even more violently now, but he eventually released Kabuto's neck. "Damn you... Damn you to hell..." Kakashi whispered desperately.

Kabuto didn't answer. He merely gathered his clothes and walked out.

_All I ever wanted was to be relive that night again. It's just great sex, albeit with the enemy, why should Kakashi be so rifed up. Unless... unless it is because of that chunnin, Iruka. _Kabuto's fist clenched hard. _That good-for-nothing doesn't deserve Kakashi, what does he know about Kakashi anyway. No, only I can ever have Kakashi, because only I understand him and only I can help him now... _

* * *

End of chapter 11! Chapter 12 will be coming right up! Review please, thank you!


	12. Closing In

Chapter 12 as promised!

**Taita: **Thank you very much for pointing it out. Guess I didn't really thought of it when I was writing... too eager to get Kakshi n Iruka together. But yep, I realized the problem now... I won't edit that chapter but I'll take note for my future writings.

Thank you to **Taita, hatakeumino, americanXminority** for reviewing!

* * *

**Chapter 12**

_I betrayed Iruka. _Kakashi lay curled up on his side on the cold hard bed. Images of the previous night played repeatedly in his head. The soft touch, the pleasure, and then the bile sense of betrayal and disgust when he realized it had been Kabuto all along.

_I'm sorry Iruka, I'm so very sorry. _Kakashi tasted the coppery taste of blood as he bit his lip in anguish. He had turned Iruka away, he had betrayed Iruka. _And all I've accomplished is to hand Orochimaru the very thing he wants. The Sharingan. I knew it was a curse._

Kakashi groaned in despair. _Dammit._ Orochimaru wants the Sharingan, that much Kakashi knew. The only reason why Kakashi was still alive and why the transfer had not taken place was that there were certain preparations that had to be made before the operation could take place.

If Orochimaru acquired the Sharingan, he would become much stronger than he is now. _And more people will die under his hands... _Kakashi wieghed his options carefully. Reinforcements from Konoha would be coming any moment now, but he couldn't depend on that. They may not get here in time or they may not be able to defeat Orochimaru. There is no other choice. Kakashi clenched his fist. _I won't let you get the Sharingan. I will kill myself before you get to it! _

Since he had no weapons of any sort, Kakashi decided the best way to commit suicide would be to bite his own tongue and bleed to death.

_What a morbid way to die. Also, I'll have to do it at a time when no one will discover. It would be worthless if they fixed me up before I manage to die. __The best time would be after the third meal of the day. After which they usually just leave me alone for about 6 hours. Good. _

There was still about 2 hours before the dinner arrived. Kakashi closed his eyes against the darkness and prepared himself to meet death. Instead, his mind was swamped with thoughts of Iruka.

* * *

They had been chasing the trail for 3 days now. Konoha had received the message sent by Kakashi and a team of ANBU had been assembled immediately to go after him. The orders were to find Orochimaru and defeat him. Were it not possible, they were to acquire intelligence regarding Orochimaru's activities and report back to Konoha. 

A cat masked ANBU slowed down his pace. The leader of the team, Shinji made the signal to stop and waited for the team to be assembled. Iruka spoke from beneath the cat mask. "It's not this direction."

"The place Kakashi wrote of in that note is in this direction."

"No! I sensed him quite a while ago. A very strong pull coming from North West."

The leader pondered over this new knowledge. Godaime had mentioned of this shinobi's 'special powers' of tracking Kakashi. He just didn't know whether to believe it.

"You have to trust me." Iruka pleaded.

The leader chewed his lip thoughtfully from underneath the clay mask. "I'm sorry, I can't. More than just emotions are at stake here, if you understand."

"But..."

"We have to move on. We're wasting precious time here."

_He's right. The longer we take to reach Kakashi, the greater the danger Kakashi will be in. I cannot convince them without proof. Hell... I don't even know how I do it. _Iruka clenched his fist in frustration as the team of ANBU continued their pursuit.

---

After 2 more days of tracking, the team of ANBU finally reached Orochimaru's lair; an innocent looking hut hidden by a forest of Sakura trees. The message from Kakashi had stated plainly that Orochimaru was hidding within the hut and that Kakashi would stay hidden and observe the place until reinforcements came.

_But Kakashi is not here! _Iruka sensed it almost at once. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do until there was proof.

While one of the ANBU stood outside to keep guard, the rest of the team slipped into the hut catiously. They spotted the trap door as Kakashi had and ventured silently down the stone steps.

Apart from the usual hidden traps, there wasn't much danger to speak of. Nevertheless, the ANBU team proceeded cautiously down the stone corridor. The entire underground hideout was quiet, almost too quiet. A thought nagged at Shinji, leader of the team. _Something is amiss. Where is Kakashi? But more importantly, where is Orochimaru? _The place was too empty. Although scrolls and weapons littered the rooms, there was not a soul in this place. It looked like it had been abandoned.

There was something else that bothered Shinji. He pondered over the familiar smell.

_Shit! Gunpowder! This place is littered with gunpowder!_

"Everyone out of here! Quickly!" he shouted.

The team needed no further instructions. They ran out of the tunnel, up the stairs and out of the hut. Just in time as the wooden hut burst into fiery flames as an explosion rocked the entire underground hideout.

"Kakashi isn't here." Iruka spoke up.

Shinji gave Iruka a hard stare from beneath his mask.

"I know now. He must have been captured."

His words only confirmed what Iruka knew in his heart but had denied for so long. Kakashi was in trouble.

"Do you trust me now?" Iruka asked, even as he knew the answer.

"There is no other way." Shinji replied as he motioned for Iruka to lead the way.

_Hang in there Kakashi. We're coming. _

* * *

The door to his cell opened. A plate of food was placed on the floor. Kabuto stood at the doorway with his arms crossed. "Eat and enjoy your last meal." 

Kakashi didn't respond. He remained curled up on the bed, his back stubbornly facing Kabuto.

"Dammit! Will you stop being so obstinate? Tomorrow you're going to die, why do you keep thinking of that chuunin?"

At the mentioning of Iruka, Kakashi stirred. "How do you know of Iruka?"

Kabuto gave a soft laugh. "Why should I tell you. I have my sources."

"If you harm even one hair on Iruka, I will make sure you regret it."

"Tsk tsk... methinks you should save the worrying for yourself, _senpai. _After all, you are going to die."

"I mean it."

"Fine! Tomorrow, I will show you no mercy." Kabuto said it like a promise as he slammed the door behind him.

Kakashi listened as the sounds of the footsteps faded away. Now was the time to put his plan into action. He propped himself up on the bed and leaned against the wall. Now, he will die for Konoha.

To thwart Orochimaru's plans, to save Konoha from the evils of the world. Kakashi will kill himself!

Seconds passed. Minutes stretched out. Sweat beaded on Kakashi's cool forehead.

_I... I can't do it. I can't do it even to save Konoha._

Tears of anguish and desperation filled his eyes as he acknowledged his failing. _I can't do it. If I die, I'll never see Iruka again. Never see his smile, never hear his laughter, never to hold him in my arms. _

"I am such a selfish bastard." Kakashi whispered to himself as muffled sobs tore out from his throat.

---

A sudden wave of sorrow hit Iruka square in the chest, almost knocking the breath out of him. _Kakashi!_

Iruka felt Kakashi's torment as acutely as if it was his own. Suddenly, Iruka was filled with a certainty he had never known before. It was as if Kakashi was lost in a fog, except now he had a string that connected him to Kakashi. _I will find you soon. Just stay there and stay alive. _Iruka sent that comforting thought along the thread of connection, hoping that Kakashi would feel it.

---

_What was that? _For a moment, Kakashi felt Iruka's presence as if Iruka was just beside him. Kakashi shook his head as if to clear off the confusion. He had to stop hallucinating and start thinking clearly like a tensai shinobi for once. Since he had decided that he would not commit suicide, the only other option now would be to escape from this place, before Orochimaru could get to him.

There wasn't much of a plan he could come up with. Kakashi decided that he would just have to break free from his captors and defeat whoever was in his way out. He had to do it, if only to see Iruka again.

* * *

It took half a day for the ANBU to reach the location where Kakashi was thought to be captured. 

"Are you sure he's inside?" Shinji asked.

"I'm absolutely positive." Iruka replied, his heart slamming hard into his chest with excitement and fear.

"Alright. Then we'll get into position and carry out the task as planned. Remember, things have changed now. The priority is not to defeat Orochimaru but to get Kakashi-san safely back to Konoha. Got it?"

The other ANBUs nodded.

"Okay, let's go!"

---

"Orochimaru-sama, it is time."

"Perfect. I trust that all the preparations had been seen to?"

"Of course."

"With the Sharingan implanted, I will be much more powerful than before! Then, even Tsunade and Jiraiya cannot stop me."

"I am sure that will be the case."

"You do not seem pleased." Orochimaru glared down at his subordinate. "Is it possible that the thought of killing someone you know, your senpai for example will be of distaste to you?"

"Do not worry yourself, Orochimaru-sama, I know what I'm doing."

"I _certainly _hope so. Let's proceed with the operation now."

---

The time had come. Kakashi knew he had only one chance at this. If he screwed up, he will die. Actually, he will die anyway because the jutsu he was about to perform will almost certainly guarantee his death.

He will perform a genjutsu on himself to block out all sensation. Not only will that enable him to perform beyond his limits without feeling any pain but will also allow him to tap chakra deep within the recesses of his body that had not been sealed by the drug they had fed him with. Because this jutsu put enormous pressure on the body, the price to pay is inevitably death.

He had to do it right. He had enough chakra for only one try.

---

The door to Kakashi's cell opened and two armed guards grabbed Kakashi by each arm and hauled him down the corridor.

_Now! _Kakashi gathered chakra in his palms and hit the two guards with it. Stunned, they howled with pain and turned to attack him with their swords. Kakashi deftly defeated them with a few well placed blows.

_Now run before the other guards are alerted! _

Kakashi took off as fast as his legs could carry, but the alarm had already been raised. Guards ran out from adjoining corridors and rooms. Kakashi dispatched them as swiftly as he could, concentrating instead on finding the exit. He ignored the bright spots that had begun appearing in front of his eyes. Thankfully, the jutsu blocked out all feelings of pain, thus sparing him from the excruciating headache he knew he was experiencing at the moment.

_Where is the damn bloody exit?_

His vision was turning black with all the bright spots and his reserve of chakra was also diminishing rapidly. He had to find the exit soon or he would die here.

Kakashi stopped in his tracks. In front of him stood Kabuto, a sad smile on his face. Behind Kabuto, Orochimaru spoke up, "You can stop now. We will soon put you out of your misery."

_No!_ Kakashi stood up straight and squared his shoulders. _I will not surrender without a fight._ "Go eat shit." Kakashi snarled. With resolve and determination in his eyes, Kakashi charged at Kabuto...

* * *

Note: When the ANBU team entered the abandoned underground hideout, they triggered a mechanism that lit up the gunpowder somewhere. That's why the place only blew up when they entered and not long before when Orochimaru left. It was a trap set up by Kabuto.

End of chapter! Okay, I'm really not very good at writing fighting scenes, so pardon me. Review please! Thank you!


	13. The Battle Begins

**Senna-chan:** I'm glad it made your day! Remember, when the going gets tough the tough gets going!  
**Horong:** I'm sorry _(blush sheepishly)_... but here's another chapter! And yup, KabuKaka is quite cool huh...  
**pink.raine:** yup. we do like to make poor Kakashi suffer...

Thank you to **Senna-chan**, **Vampiress of the Day**, **flowing tears**, **Heosic-chan**, **Horong** and **pink.raine** for reviewing! You guys really made my day!

* * *

**Chapter 13**

Kabuto smiled sadly at the oncoming jounin. Even if Kakashi was whole and well, his chidori would not have been able to defeat Kabuto. But here he was, a desperately formed chidori in his hand, charging straight at Kabuto.

_Such determination. Too bad it will all end today. _Kabuto was about to knock Kakashi out cold when an explosion erupted behind him.

_What the hell? Is it the ANBU from Konoha?_

The sight of 4 masked faces confirmed Kabuto's suspicions.

_Shit. I have been too careless._

"Orochimaru-sama!"

"I will handle these guys, you just make sure I get the Sharingan."

Kabuto turned to face Kakashi, and almost didn't escape the blast of chakra from Kakashi's chidori. As it was, his chest was slightly singed by the chakra. Kabuto jumped back, quickly healing himself as he sought to calm himself down.

Kakashi was almost at the end of his tether now.

Just then, a masked ANBU appeared in front of Kakashi and slung him over the shoulder.

"Oh no, you're not going anywhere!" Kabuto cried as he moved to attack the ANBU, only to be thwarted by balls of wind that were hurled his way.

Spinning at extremely high speeds, those circular puffs of chakra-mixed-wind were deadly to come in contact with.

The ANBU wasted no time dealing with him, instead, with Kakashi over his shoulder, he quickly fled out of the underground hideout.

_Damn! _Kabuto immediately gave chase.

---

Meanwhile, the other 3 ANBU were facing off with Orochimaru. From out of the corner of his eye, Orochimaru saw the fourth ANBU escape with Kakashi. It didn't concern him at all. Kabuto will definitely bring him back, he knew the consequences if he did not.

The three ANBU in front of him were of no threat. He could finish them off in less than a minute. However, that would be no fun at all. Perhaps he could play with them a little while, let them humour him. Yes, he would kill them one by one.

And then, shock rang through him as one of the ANBU removed his mask.

The unmistakenable white bushy hair. Those eyes, the wrinkled face...

"Why, I didn't expect to see you here, Jiraiya. Nevertheless, I'm happy to see you."

"Well, I'm not." Jiraiya snorted.

The other two ANBU stole a glance at each other. _So they didn't know either_, Orochimaru thought. _This changes things._

Orochimaru didn't want to be caught up in a fight at this moment. Not only was it troublesome, a fight with Jiraiya would definitely bring destruction to the entire place and Orochimaru wasn't sure he wanted his research to be destroyed.

On the other hand, it would be perfect if he could kill Jiraiya now.

Orochimaru smiled.

"Stop that you old snake. I am going to do mankind a favor today and destroy you!" Jiraiya shouted.

"Be my guest to try."

And then there was a blinding white light as the two powerful ninjas battled their chakra against each other.

* * *

"Ru...ka?" The soft groan came out of Kakashi's mouth. 

"Don't talk now Kakashi, save your strength. It's all going to be fine now."

"Ruka... listen... I wanted to see you one last... time... and now I... have..."

"Yes you have and you're going to see a lot of me after this too. You'll never be able to get rid of me, you hear that!" Iruka answered as he sprinted through the woods. He could sense Kabuto very close behind him.

"Now... now I can die... in peace." Kakashi mumbled and then was silent as he lost consciousness.

"Kakashi!" Iruka cried. There was no avoiding it now. Kabuto was right behind him. Iruka stopped and carefully lay Kakashi down. He turned around to look at Kabuto.

The ninja was staring at Iruka with a fierce expression of hate. "So you're Iruka... the one who Kakashi... oh it doesn't matter now. I am going to have fun killing you."

Iruka fisted his hands to keep them from shaking in fear. He had known such a battle would arise, yet he had hoped he could avoid it. He didn't know if his strength was enough to protect Kakashi.

Kabuto gave a cruel laugh at the fear he saw behind the mask. "Scared already? I wonder why Konoha sent a pathetic chuunin like you to save Kakashi. You don't deserve him."

That brought Iruka up short. _I must defeat him! Kakashi's life depends on me. Even if I die, I will protect Kakashi from harm! That is why I will defeat him!_

Iruka snatched out several kunais and hurled them towards Kabuto. As expected Kabuto quickly dodged all of them, only to find himself surrounded by dozens of Iruka clones.

"Kage bushin no jutsu?" Kabuto laughed. "Is that all you can do? Well, what else can I have expected from Naruto's sensei?"

_He's incredibly fast! _Iruka thought as Kabuto dispatched of all his clones.

"Well, let's see you take this then!" With the distraction of the clones, Iruka had managed to concentrate on his jutsu undisturbed. Sending out his chakra into the air around him, he had managed to garner a small tornado which he hurled towards Kabuto.

"What?" Shocked, Kabuto barely managed to jump out of the way. _I have clearly underestimated him. Seems like he can control the wind. _

The small tornado returned to Iruka's side. Iruka's eyes were as dark as whirlpools, concentrating hard on controlling the tornado beside him. With a flick of his hand, he flung the tornado towards Kabuto again.

_So he can control where it goes. _Kabuto thought as he sprang aside, the tornado missing him by inches. _But... _"You're too slow!" Kabuto shouted back.

No sooner had he said that then he felt a sharp pain on his shoulder where the tornado had grazed passed. The cloth there was torn and blood was oozing out of the cuts.

"Even if you're not hit directly by it, the force of the wind will not leave you unharmed." Iruka said as he directed the tornado at Kabuto again.

Kabuto quickly avoided it this time. _You think you're quite smart aren't you? But too bad, cause you've forgotten something. In a one-on-one battle, you never leave yourself unguarded. When you hurl your winds at me, you leave yourself vulnerable to attacks. And that is what I am going to take advantage of! _

Iruka saw the look of determination in Kabuto's eyes and knew what Kabuto was up to. Indeed, it was the loophole in his jutsu. Controlling the air requires enormous concentration and impeccable control of chakra, leaving the ninja defenceless against attacks from anywhere else. _But I still had to try! _

Iruka carefully build up the tornado, it spun and spitted and grew into a huge whirlwind. The tornado whipped up objects around it. Iruka's brown eyes grew dark and unfocused as the tornado sucked up more chakra from him. _Now!_

This time, Kabuto did not avoid the tornado, instead, he ran straight at it, only veering off at the last moment. Yes! He'd avoided that monstrous thing, and Kabuto was now headed directly at Iruka!

The tornado overshot Kabuto but quickly doubled back. _Too slow! I will get Iruka before the wind gets me!_

Blood spurted onto Kabuto's face as he dug a kunai into Iruka's chest. "Goodbye chuunin." he grinned as blood trickled out of Iruka's mouth.

"Not quite." Iruka's face was that of calm as he slowly gathered a ball of wind in his palm.

Kabuto's eyes widened as he realized what Iruka was about to do. A blow at such a close range will be disastrous. He turned to retreat but discovered that Iruka had a death grip on him.

"Goodbye Kabuto." Iruka said as he punched Kabuto straight in the guts with a huge ball of wind, and then again and again and again, heedless of the blood that was pouring out of his wound. Finally, Iruka gave one last blow and Kabuto was flung several hundred feet away.

Kabuto lay motionless on the ground. He wanted to move but he couldn't. His body felt torn apart. Even though he had shielded his body against the blows by repairing the injuries as soon as he was hit, the damage was still severe. _Damn that chuunin... _Kabuto had underestimated him.

Kakashi was lost to him now. Orochimaru's wrath would be unpleasant to bear. At least the chuunin will die. Not that he would live through that chest wound anyway, but just as an additional precaution, Kabuto had put poison on that kunai. Iruka's death was certain.

Kabuto closed his eyes and succumbed to exhaustion. He would face Orochimaru's anger later.

---

Iruka crumpled onto the ground. His limbs felt wooden. He had defeated Kabuto, but he was now an invalid, unable to protect Kakashi anymore. With his remaining strength, he crawled over to where Kakashi lay. And then his world turned black.

* * *

"Is that all you can do?" Orochimaru sneered at the panting Jiraiya. 

"Me? I'm doing fine. In fact, I'm worried about you. You've never sweated so much. Are you sure you're okay?" Jiraiya retorted back.

That was true. Beads of sweat trickled down Orochimaru's forehead and he wiped them away in disgust. They had been fighting for almost an hour. They were almost equally matched and neither was willing to give in to the other.

"I am going to kill you today."

Jiraiya snorted. "I see, so you had it planned all along. The whole Sharingan thing was just a ploy to get me here. You knew I would not stand by and watch while my grand disciple got mucked up by you."

Orochimaru gave a chilling laugh. "Say whatever you want. It isn't going to change things. You are still going to die."

The air around the two ninjas crackled as chakra gathered around them. Orochimaru was surrounded by a bright purple glow while Jiraiya was surrounded by a similar orange glow. This would be the final deciding blow.

---

Jiraiya stared up at the clear blue sky. His entire body hurt. It felt like he had been trampled by a thousand people. He didn't understand what had happened. At such a close range, no one could have missed.

Wincing, he got to his feet and stared down at the motionless figure on the ground.

"Why didn't you kill me?" Orochimaru murmured.

"Same reason why you drew back at the last moment." Jiraiya answered.

"Hahaha!" Orochimaru's laughter rang out loud. "What a gullible fool. You're too amusing to be killed. I rather enjoyed battling with you."

"So did I, just like the old times." Jiraiya said softly, sadness in his eyes.

"There are no old times. I am not the Orochimaru of the past. I am much stronger and powerful now."

"I see, then why didn't you kill me. You could have you know."

"I told you. I'm keeping you alive to entertain myself with."

"..." Jiraiya rolled his eyes in disbelief. "Orochimaru... stop the evil deeds you're doing. Stop treating people's lives as if it were worthless."

"Why should I stop? It is not evil. I'm just looking for power that rightfully belongs to the intelligent who search for it. Besides, all lives are worthless without power."

"You're hopeless."

"You're stubborn."

"The next time we meet, I will not hold back." with that, Jiraiya turned his back on Orochimaru and walked away.

"What are you going to say to Tsunade. She will not appreciate you letting me go." Orochimaru called after him.

Jiraiya stopped and was about to say something but he thought better of it. Silently, he left.

"Neither will I hold back." Orochimaru whispered. _Jiraiya... you're too amusing to kill. If you die, who will I spar with? Who will be around to challenge me? Who else can I torment? I will keep you alive until I've uncovered the most powerful jutsus. Then I'll show you who is more powerful. Then I'll defeat you once and for all and you will see that you've been stupid all along._

* * *

End of chapter 13! I'm afraid I haven't really got a clue on how to write fighting scenes. My apologies for it being not very well written and for skipping much of Jiraiya and Orochimaru's fight. 

**Note:** I wanted to give Iruka a powerful jutsu, something that may have passed on in his family. So I decided to give him the ability to use chakra to capture air and control it, turning it into wind. Of course, nothing of this sort happened in the manga or anime, it is purely my own imagination.

Once again, thank you so much for reviewing! There's still about two more chapters to go before this story ends.


	14. Please wake up

This chapter is kind of slow and not very exciting. But after the past two chapters of fighting, I wanted a chapter that could bring the story away from the previous events into what will happen next. This is one of the last few chapters I would be writing.

**pink.raine**: actually I think Orochimaru wouldn't have cared less if Jiraiya died.. but I didn't want Jiraiya to die and I don't think Jiraiya could have beaten him so there had to be a compromise somewhere. but thank you for being willing to accept that there's a possibility they couldn't bring themselves to do it. (:  
**americanXminority**: hidden affection? Haha.. one can fantasize...  
**Horong**: thank you! I'm happy that I interpreted the characters to your liking.  
**Taita**: I definitely agree that I need more work with the fight scene. But... I was too lazy to research and write a good one that would do Orochimaru and Jiraiya justice. Haha... But I think I cut it much too short. Oops! But yah, thanks for the helpful comments. (:

Heartfelt thanks goes out to **J.M.Captein, Jazz-jazz011, Senna-chan, daisukiangel42, pink.raine, americanXminority, Horong, flowing tears**, and **Taita **for your wonderful reviews!

**

* * *

****Chapter 14**

Pain. Excruciating pain. It tore at his body, it robbed him of his breath. Iruka tried to thrash out, but his limbs refused to obey him. His head felt like it was about to explode and his heart slammed hard against his chest. _I can't take it anymore! Give me anything to make the pain go..._

Through the red haze of pain, Iruka dimly heard Sakura's voice, as if from very far away. "Dammit sensei! Don't you dare die on me! I refuse to let you die. Naruto, help me hold this. I need to get the poison out. Thank God he's unconscious and can't feel the pain."

_Not unconscious._ Iruka wanted to scream out. _Just chained and trapped in this cage of suffering._

"We need to get him to the hokage now!" another voice called out from the distance. _Kakashi, was that Kakashi? Does that mean he's alright? _Iruka struggled against the thick fog pressing down on him.

"Don't move around Kakashi-sensei! You're hurt too!" Sakura's commanding voice sounded again, except this time it was softer and fainter. Another wave of pain hit Iruka, it felt like someone was clawing his brains out. A silent scream erupted from Iruka's throat.

_Please... just... just let me die... release me from this torment. _Iruka gasped silently. Through the agony, Iruka stumbled into the cold darkness. The chill numbed his senses and lessened the pain he felt. Iruka burrowed deeper into the dark, letting frost and ice gather around him. At least now the pain had lessened and was almost gone. Cocooned in shadows and shade, Iruka surrendered himself to the cold. Better to feel nothing then be tortured by the pain.

* * *

_Why am I still alive?_

That was Kakashi's first thought when he opened his eyes to stare at the pristine white ceiling at the hospital. His shoulder was wrapped up in bandages and he was put on a drip. Gingerly, Kakashi managed to prop himself into a sitting position. Every small movement he made sent dull pain shooting through his entire body.

_How many days had it been since Sakura, Naruto and Shikamaru brought me back to Konoha?_

A moment later, Jiraiya entered the hospital room. "Oh good, you're awake," he said. Apart from chakra burns on various parts of his body and minor cuts and bruises, Jiraiya appeared none the worse for wear.

Kakashi took a sip from the glass of water Jiraiya handed him. "How long?" he croaked out, his voice hoarse from unuse.

"3 days. Tsunade wasn't please at the state you got your body in."

"I wasn't supposed to survive." Kakashi said.

"You almost didn't. Where the hell did you learn that jutsu from? It nearly tore your internal organs apart, not withstanding the fact that it disrupted your entire chakra system."

Kakashi gave a wry smile. He gulped down the rest of the water and put on the mask someone had thoughtfully left at the side of his bed. Taking a deep breath and fisting his hands to keep them from shaking, he asked Jiraiya what he had been dying to know but was afraid to find out, "How is Iruka?"

Jiraiya stared at him for awhile and then he looked away, as if he was afraid to hold the jounin's gaze. "He's alive."

A breath Kakashi wasn't aware he was holding escaped softly through his lips.

"But..."

"But what?" Kakashi's head snapped up, dread pooling in his stomach.

"He may never wake up."

* * *

The door to the hospital room 407 burst opened and Kakashi limped out of the room. Grabbing the first medical staff he saw, he demanded, "Where is the room of Umino Iruka?" 

Jiraiya hurried out of the room after him. "Kakashi, you can't go around in this condition, you..."

But Kakashi had already strode off, taking large purposeful strides. It hurt to walk but it didn't feel half as bad as what his heart was feeling. _Iruka... _

Jiraiya sighed and followed Kakashi. Tsunade had given him the task of looking after Kakashi and she wouldn't be happy to see her patient wandering about.

---

Tsunade stared at the unconscious chuunin sleeping peacefully. Three days ago when Sakura brought Iruka in, she was ready to pronounce the teacher dead. The poison had turned his body hard and blue and he had lost too much blood to be alive. But Sakura had dragged Tsunade's fingers to Iruka's wrist and insisted on a pulse. Looking at Sakura's tearful face, Tsuande had tried her darnest to feel for any signs of life at all.

Her heart leapt and she felt a glimmer of hope when she located the faint but resilient pulse. Her relief was quickly replaced by an urgency and determination to save Iruka. Sakura had done an amazing job preventing most of the poison from reaching the heart. She had also stitched the chest wound and stopped it from bleeding. Now it was up to Tsunade to heal the teacher and for Iruka to have the will power to live it through.

3 days later, the poison had been extricated from Iruka's body. Blood transfusion had rectified the loss of blood from the chest wound. Iruka's conditioned had stabilized. The only problem now was that Iruka refused to wake up.

---

The door to Iruka's ward opened and a chill swept into the room. Before Tsunade could look up, Kakashi had grabbed hold of the front of her shirt. "Why is he still sleeping there?" he demanded harshly.

Jiraiya entered the room just in time to see Tsunade slap Kakashi hard across the cheek.

"Baka! Do you think I had not done my best to save him?"

Kakashi stared blankly at the seemingly sleeping Iruka, the imprint of Tsunade's palm on his cheek and his face stinging. Iruka looked so peaceful lying there, like a perfect angel. _He's just sleeping. He'll wake up and smile at me again... _

"I'm sorry." Kakashi murmured an apology for his brashness.

"It's alright." Tsunade ran a tired hand through her light golden hair. "I know you're worried about him."

"Iruka... ruka... can you hear me? If you can please open your eyes. Open your eyes and look at me." Kakashi took hold of Iruka's cold hand and spoke pleadingly.

"Kakashi, I hate to say this, but you have to be prepared to face the possibility that Iruka may never wake up." Tsunade said as gently as she could.

"No... you lie. Iruka will wake up. I know it."

"I... I should have never have let Iruka gone on the mission. I should have known that when a shinobi is clouded by his emotions, he tends to make rash and foolish decisions." Tsunade said regretfully.

From the side of the room, Jiraiya snorted, "Stop blaming yourself. Do you think Iruka would have listened to you? I've known that boy since he was a wee little kid and once he puts his mind to it there's nothing that can stop him."

"But why? Ruka... why did you risk your life for me?" Kakashi whispered mournfully.

"Baka. How can you be so dense. You mean the world to Iruka and he's already lost too many whom he cared about. Do you think he could bear to lose you too?" Tsunade sighed. "Talk to him, try to reach out to him. Iruka spoke of a connection he had with you. Maybe you can find it and bring him back to us."

Kakashi didn't even notice when Jiraiya and Tsunade left the room. His attention was focused solely on the chuunin.

_Iruka wake up. Wake up. I'm right here beside you. Please open your eyes and wake up. I can't lose you now. I need you, I need you alive and awake beside me, so don't sleep anymore. _Kakashi pleaded silently.

Tsunade had said something about talking to him. _I'll talk to you until you wake up. _

Kakashi settled himself beside Iruka's bed and began, "Hey Ruka... Kakashi here. I know you can hear me. Let me tell you a story. You can, no, you must wake up once I've completed my story. This is a story about how the scarecrow and the dolphin first met. Yep, you might have guessed, I'm the scarecrow and you're the dolphin. One day, a long time ago, the dolphin called the scarecrow to the office. Now the scarecrow was puzzled, why did the dolphin call him in. Then the scarecrow realized that it must have been about the new genin teams. The dolphin..."

And so Kakashi told the story of how he first met Iruka. But Iruka refused to wake up, so Kakashi continued with another story of the second time he met Iruka, but still Iruka remained in an unconscious slumber.

Naruto, Sakura and their friends all came to see Iruka. Naruto burst into tears when he saw the state Iruka was in. Several of the other genins cried too. Only Kakashi sat beside Iruka, eyes dry, throat parched as he continued talking to Iruka.

"You always wanted to hear about my past, I'll tell you now... I'll tell you everything, if you'll just wake up." Kakashi continued narrating. He told Iruka his entire life story, he told Iruka about Obito whom he'd never said a word to anyone else about. Kakashi didn't stop filling up the quiet room with his own voice. He stopped only to grab a few morsels of food and drink water when his throat was dry. Sometimes he was so exhausted he fell asleep in the middle of the story, only to wake up and say "ahh... as I was saying before I doze off..." and continue talking.

One week later, Iruka remained as unresponsive as ever. Only the gentle rise and fall of his chest gave evidence that he was still alive.

"So what story should I tell you today?" Kakashi asked in a now hoarse voice. "Ruka-kun, you better wake up soon. I've got no more stories to tell and I'm damn sick and tired of hearing my own voice." Kakashi said, frustration creeping into his voice. Alas, exhaustion was catching up on him and his throat was beginning to hurt badly.

"Ruka, wake up!" As usual, there was no response.

Kakashi's patience broke. He grabbed hold of Iruka's limp shoulders and shook hard. "Um-i-no-I-ru-ka! You better bloody wake up now or you'll be sorry you ever lived!" Sadly, however hard Kakashi shook, Iruka remained passive.

A nagging doubt crept into Kakashi's heart. _What if Tsunade was right. What if Iruka would never wake up?_

"No..." a painful sob tore from Kakashi's throat. His heart felt torn apart and yet his eyes remained dry. It was as if he was too drained to even cry.

Tucking one of Iruka's hand under his chin, Kakashi gently caressed Iruka's face with his other hand. He closed his eyes and recalled all the happy times he had spent with Iruka. He remembered every expression that flitted across Iruka's face, he dug deeper into his memories and he found Iruka's scent, his touch. And still Kakashi pressed on, swimming through the tide of memories, and then he found Iruka's feelings for him. Every emotion that Iruka had showed during their time together and at last, Kakashi realized how much Iruka loved him.

In a way, Kakashi realized that he had always known of Iruka's feelings for him. He was just too scared to acknowledge it.

"Ruka-kun." Kakashi called out loud and also in his heart and mind. _Ruka-kun, can you hear me? I love you. I love you so much. Please come back to me. Come back here into the light. It's too dark where you are and I cannot see you. Come back into the light where I can be with you, where I will keep you warm and protect you from harm. Come back to where everyone loves you... wake up and come back to where I cannot live without you. _

---

Numb. Iruka was numb. There was nothing here in this void, except darkness and ice. Even then, he was too numb to feel the cold, too numb to understand the dark. This doesn't feel like heaven. Iruka was annoyed. He felt he deserved to go to heaven, so why is God punishing him by putting him here in this boring unfeeling purgatory?

And then out of nowhere there came a voice.

_"Oka-san, is that you?"_ Iruka spoke out, except that his voice was frozen so no sound came out.

"Ru-chan."

That was his mother's pet name for him!

"Ruka-kun."

His father was here too?

"Ru-chan dear, it's not your time yet, you do not have to go."

_"But I want to be with oka-san and otto-san!" _Iruka called out in his head.

"No son, there's someone who wouldn't let you go and there's something in your heart that you cannot give up."

"Ru-chan, you have to go back to him, that is where you belong, for now."

_"But.. but... "_

"Be brave, my son, walk out of the cold and darkness. There's someone waiting for you to guide you out."

_Someone? Kakashi? Oh yes, Kakashi needs me. I haven't punished him for leaving me. I need to find him and bring him back safely... _

Iruka shivered as the cold slowly seeped into his bones. _Funny, I hadn't felt the cold before._ With a purpose in his mind now, Iruka struggled to free himself from the ice. As the frost around him slowly melted, the pain of regaining his sensations assaulted Iruka. Iruka gritted his teeth and wrestled with the cold.

_Why is it so dark here... I need to get out of this place. Light... I need light. _

Iruka broke free of the ice and began wandering about in the void, shivering and calling out in the darkness. "Hello! Is anyone out there? Kakashi! Naruto! Sakura! Tsunade!"

And then suddenly he saw a dim light in the distance. Iruka slowly advanced towards it. It seemed so small, so far away, nevertheless, Iruka got to his feet and slowly made his way there...

"Iruka!" _There! Kakashi's voice was coming from the direction of the light! If only I can get to it..._

---

"Iruka?" Kakashi stared at the fluttering eye-lashes and held his breath, hoping against hope...

Iruka opened his eyes to find Kakashi staring at him with intense emotions swirling in his eye.

"Kakashi... I found you at last." Iruka exclaimed in surprise. A broad smile spreaded across his face. Without saying another word, he closed his eyes and promptly fell asleep.

"Iruka!" Shocked, Kakashi shook Iruka hard. He wasn't going to let Iruka slip back into coma after waking up

"Mmm... lemmesleep..." Iruka mumbled.

Only then did Kakashi heave a sigh of relief. Eyes that had remained dry for the past week were suddenly moist with tears. Kakashi lay his head down on the edge of Iruka's bed and slept soundly for the first time in a long while.

* * *

End 

Yeah, I know this chapter is kind of boring. But I promise the next chapter will be good! And it's going to come out real soon, as soon as I finish with abit of editing. Thank you for reviewing!


	15. I'll give you what you want

Thank you **Taita, J.M.Captein, Mumei the Rogue, AloneOutside, pink raine, daisukiangel42, Heosic-chan, Senna-chan, Zezura, flowing tears **and** Alina11 **for reviewing! The reviews have been very encouraging and have made me very very happy!

This is the last chapter! It's been a long journey and I've certainly taken my time to finishing it. But... this will finally complete it! Thank you to everyone who've read all the way until here and especially to my faithful reviewers who've reviewed almost every chapters and given me alot of encouragement. Thank you all for your support! Arigatou!

**

* * *

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**Chapter 15**

Ino was arranging the flowers inside the shop when she spied a suspicious male figure loitering at the front door.

_Sigh... another one of those pesky suitors I have to deal with. It's the price to pay for being too attractive._

Ino strode out to the front, "Now, I don't date people I don't kn... Kakashi-sensei? What are you doing here?"

"Ano, I was going to the hospital when I lost my way." Kakashi said sheepishly.

_Ya right._ Ino secretly rolled her eyes. Smiling politely, she asked instead, "Since you are already here, why not buy some flowers for Iruka-sensei?"

"Ahh! You're right! What a fantastic idea. I think I will do just that." Kakashi bestowed Ino with a wide smile (under the dratted mask of course).

Ino chuckled softly, it had been his intention all along. He was just too shy to admit it. _Oh men!_ Smiling brightly, Ino asked, "So, Kakashi-sensei, what flowers do you want to get?"

"Um..." Kakashi casted a look around. "Those?" He pointed to the colourful carnations sitting at the window.

"No way!" Ino exclaimed. "Carnations are more suited for funerals than for well wishes! Really Kakashi-sensei, I thought you would know better."

"Saa..." Kakashi gave an apologetic grin. "I hardly ever pay attention to these things."

Ino gave an exasperated sigh. Grabbing Kakashi's arm, she dragged the jounin into the shop before he could protest. "How about these sunflowers? They're bright and cheery, pretty much like Iruka-sensei's disposition. And they are _so_ pretty to look at."

"Okay. I'll get them then."

"Yay! I'll give you a 20 percent discount on the account that you're getting it for Iruka-sensei." Ino skillfully arranged the sunflowers in a bouquet and handed them to Kakashi. "Send my regards to Iruka-sensei!"

Kakashi smiled happily to himself as he walked out of the shop. After Iruka had woken up from his long coma, Kakashi had fallen into a peaceful sleep beside Iruka. Tsunade had woken him up 2 hours later and had demanded that he return back home to rest before she finds her hands full with yet another patient. Kakashi barely remember the trip back home. He had fallen asleep as soon as he had landed on the bed.

After sleeping for one full day, Kakashi felt recharged and he couldn't wait to see Iruka again. With the flowers in hand, Kakashi quickly made his way to the hospital.

* * *

"What do you mean he doesn't want to see me?" Kakashi was almost outside Iruka's room when he was intercepted by Sakura. 

"I don't know. Iruka-sensei just said he didn't want Kakashi-sensei to enter." Sakura said quietly but firmly.

Bewildered, Kakashi tried again. "Is this a trick you and Naruto came up with? Ahh.. I see Naruto... Naruto! You can cut the act now and let me through."

Naruto looked up at Kakashi. "Ano... Sakura-chan is telling the truth. Iruka-sensei really doesn't want to see you."

Stunned, the flowers dropped from Kakashi's limp hand. Iruka didn't want to see him? _How could that be possible? But Iruka was so happy to see me when he woke up... _Kakashi didn't understand.

"I'll take these flowers to Iruka-sensei." Sakura said kindly, picking up the sunflowers as Kakashi stood rooted to the ground.

"Kakashi-sensei, what did you do to Iruka?" Naruto asked, somewhat accusingly.

"I didn't do anything. I haven't even seen him after he woke up!" Kakashi said bewilderedly.

"Then why is Iruka-sensei so sad?" Naruto said. "He smiles and acts like he's happy but when he thinks we're not looking he has this sad look on his face. And you're the first one he saw when he woke up so it has got to be your fault!"

"Hey, that's unfair. It's not my fault. Look, Naruto, let me in. I want to see Iruka, I'll talk to him and make him happy okay?"

"No." Naruto crossed his arms.

"Naruto..." Kakashi said threateningly.

A flicker of uncertainty flitted across Naruto's blue eyes. He knew how formidable his sensei could be when he was riled. However, his loyalty towards Iruka came first and he shook his head stubbornly.

_Grrr... _Kakashi growled in frustration. The great tensai copy-nin Kakashi never begged!

Kakashi took a deep breath... "Please... I'll buy you ramen tomorrow... for a week, a month!"

"No. Iruka-sensei said no and that's final." Naruto said and then hurried off before he could be tempted by Kakashi's offer.

Left forlornly outside Iruka's hospital room, Kakashi slouched against the wall, his heart heavy. _Iruka! How can you do this to me! _He was so close and yet so far.

Could Iruka be upset over what he'd said before he left? Kakashi groaned. He had been so busy worrying about Iruka he had almost forgotten the hurtful words he'd flung at Iruka. _I have to find a way to apologise to him and explain everything... _

Kakashi leaned his head back against the wall. He could hear Iruka's cheerful laughter from the other side of the room. As long as Iruka was not alone, Kakashi could not get in without encountering resistance. Kakashi dragged heavy feet out of the hospital, his slumped shoulders a picture of defeat.

* * *

"Iruka-sensei, these flowers are from Kakashi-sensei" Sakura said as she placed the brightly coloured sunflowers into a vase beside the bed. 

"Thank you Sakura-chan." Iruka smiled.

"Sensei... I know it is not my place to say, but why don't you want to see Kakashi?" Sakura blurted out, unable to keep her curiosity anymore.

Iruka's smile faded and for a moment sorrow flickered across his face. "I... I just need some time to think that's all."

"Its okay sensei, we're with you all the way." Sakura threw a kind smile at Iruka.

Just then, Naruto entered the room. "Iruka-sensei! I turned down Kakashi's ramen bribe! Aren't you proud of me? Promise me you'll go have ramen with me when you're discharged! Promise promise?"

Iruka laughed. "Of course, Naruto. I'll treat you to as much ramen as you can eat."

"Hooray!"

---

When all his visitors had finally gone (almost all his students came to visit him), Iruka removed one sunflower from the vase and fingered it thoughtfully, a small smile gracing his serene face.

_Does Kakashi know I love sunflowers?_

Not that it matters. Nothing about Kakashi mattered anymore. Iruka's smile vanished. Before he left, Kakashi had made it very clear that he wanted nothing more to do with Iruka. _I'm not stupid enough to throw myself back where I'm not wanted._

_"But why don't you want to see Kakashi-sensei?" _Sakura had asked.

_Because it'll break my heart._ Iruka thought sadly. _What happened between us was history. I can't expect him to treat me with anything but indifference now. And I don't think I can bear it if he's cool and polite to me. _

Kakashi had seemed full of concern for Iruka when Iruka woke up and he'd heard of how Kakashi had stayed 24/7 by his bed when he was still in coma. But all that meant nothing. _Kakashi probably just felt indebted to me for saving his life... _

_I don't want his gratitude! I want his heart... _

"It will be best if we go on our own separate ways." Iruka whispered to himself.

So why did his heart ache so badly? Iruka sighed and burrowed deeper into the warm blankets. His pillow grew moist as tears spilled out of his eyes. _It's alright, it's just a temporary heartache. I'll get over it.

* * *

_

It was late at night, or early in the morning, depending on how you looked at it. At exactly one hour past midnight, a masked ninja climbed stealthily up the wall of the hospital building. He'd already identified the ward his prey was in. Now all he had to do was to break in through the window.

With skilled and practiced hands, he picked open the lock at the window and stepped into the room. The ward was clean and smelled faintly of antiseptic. His quarry was curled up soundly on the bed, the blanket twisted around his waist.

The intruder padded silently towards the bed. _Umino Iruka... _

---

Iruka had heard the intruder when he was outside the window. Although not a light sleeper, he was having a restless night when he thought he heard disturbance at the window. Granted, the intruder had been extremely quiet. But Iruka was a shinobi and his keen sense of hearing told him that the intruder was coming nearer.

Iruka's hand closed on the hilt of the kunai below his pillow. The masked ninja was almost beside his bed.

_Now!_

Iruka swung his kunai up at the face of the intruder, catching him by surprise. Unfortunately, the intruder was too fast for him and he dodged immediately, grabbing hold of Iruka's wrist and pinning him down onto the bed.

"Iruka, it's me!" the intruder gave a loud whisper.

"Kakashi?" Stunned, Iruka looked up and his heart gave a tumble. It was indeed Kakashi.

"What the hell are you doing here? It's what... 2 am in the morning!" Iruka lashed out at Kakashi while trying to calm the tumultuous emotions inside of him. Decked out in his ninja suit and illuminated by the moonlight, Kakashi looked as handsome as ever.

"Well, what did you expect me to do? You wouldn't see me in the morning and you had practically everyone in Konoha against me, forbidding me to enter your room." Kakashi glared at Iruka.

"I... I..." Iruka stammered, not sure of what to say. "I thought you made it very clear you wanted nothing to do with me." Iruka retorted as he looked up challengingly at Kakashi, as if daring him to say the contrary.

Kakashi released his hold on Iruka and looked away from Iruka's compelling gaze. There was a silence before Kakashi finally spoke up. "I lied. That day I left, everything I said was a lie. I didn't want you to be upset if anything happened to me... I thought if I pushed you away, if you hate me, you won't get hurt."

"You called me a whore." Iruka accused.

Kakashi turned to look at Iruka, anguish in his eyes. "I... Ruka-chan, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I called you a whore... I'm sorry you got hurt. I'm sorry I pushed you away. Forgive me."

Iruka looked straight at Kakashi in the eye. "If saying sorry was enough, then we wouldn't need policemen would we?"

Kakashi's insides twisted as he saw the coolness in Iruka's stare. "I... I love you." Kakashi stammered out.

Iruka gave a sad sigh. "If you loved me, you wouldn't have pushed me away. You should have trusted me with your love and not shut me out. Besides, you've already told me through your words and actions that you don't love me. What you feel is gratitude, not love."

Kakashi felt like someone had thrown a sucker punch into his gut. He hurt so bad inside. This can't be happening. He had to make Iruka understand. Kakashi pressed on, "You said you loved me, Iruka."

Iruka's face fell even further (if that was possible). He dropped his gaze and stared at the fingers locked in front of him. "Yes. I loved you and I still do." Kakashi's heart gave a leap of hope.

"But I'll try my best not to love you anymore."

Kakashi couldn't believe what he was hearing. _No... this cannot be true._

"You don't have to feel indebted to me, I went after you because I loved you and I couldn't bear it if you died. But now that you're safe and well, I won't bother you anymore. I'll forget you and whatever that had happened between us and you won't have to be make yourself believe you're in love with me to make me happy.

_What was Iruka saying? He wasn't making sense? _Kakashi didn't know what was happening. All he knew was that Iruka was slipping further and further away from him and if he didn't do anything about it he would lose Iruka... _forever_. "Iruka, listen. I know what I'm feeling." Kakashi grabbed hold of Iruka's cold hands and held them tight. "I love you." He emphasized.

The look of pity Iruka gave him tore Kakashi's heart in pieces. Gently, Iruka extricated his hands from Kakashi's grasp. "You don't love me, Kakashi, you don't know how to love. Please... just go... I don't want to see you again."

With that, Iruka turned on his side and pulled the covers tightly around him.

Standing stiffly beside the bed with his hands clenched tightly by his side, Kakashi spoke quietly, his voice tortured and anguished. "Is this what you really want?"

Iruka nodded vigorously, he was afraid he would start sobbing if he opened his mouth. From the corner of his eye, he saw Kakashi turn to leave. At the window, Kakashi paused as if he had more to say but thought better of it. As quickly as he had arrived, Kakashi left the room, leaving behind only his faint body odor and the dying echoes of his voice in Iruka's memories.

When he was certain that Kakashi had left, Iruka clutched his pillow to his face and cried himself to sleep.

* * *

**7 days later**

Sakura helped Iruka pack his belongings as Iruka prepared to be discharged. During his stay in the hospital, his students visited him every other day, telling him how they had missed his lessons and updating him on their newest escapades. Naruto remarked loudly on how he hadn't seen Kakashi-sensei around these few days, warranting a hard knock from Sakura who quickly shushed him up before he could say anymore. Iruka told himself that he should be glad that Kakashi was staying away. The less he saw of the jounin, the easier it would be to forget him.

**9 days later**

Despite Tsunade's advice that he stay home to rest a few more days, Iruka returned to teach at the academy. His class was surprisingly obedient today. He took advantage of their obedience and piled them with lots of work. However, as a reward, he gave an exciting account of his fight with Kabuto. His students left the classroom all eager and excited to become a ninja. Iruka went around saying hi to his friends in the academy. He told himself it was because he hadn't seen them for a long time and wanted to reassure them that he was alright. It was most definitely not because he was looking for a particular silver-haired jounin.

**12 days later**

Iruka hadn't heard anything of Kakashi. It had seemed that all of Konoha had known of the conflict between the two of them. Iruka's friends were careful not to drop Kakashi's name when Iruka was around and the jounin seemed to have disappeared from the face of the earth.

**14 days later**

Iruka was at the market when he saw a flash of silver hair in the crowd. Walking faster, he approached the man only to realize that it was Jiraiya. _Of course I knew that_, Iruka said to himself. Greeting Jiraiya cheerily, Iruka ignored the stinging disappointment he felt inside.

**18 days later**

The plan to forget Kakashi didn't seem to be working. Iruka hadn't seen Kakashi in 18 days. Pride prevented him from asking where Kakashi was and given that everyone knew of their delicate situation, he couldn't just casually drop the question of where Kakashi had been the past 18 days. Iruka was making lesson plans at home when he caught himself idly sketching a picture of Kakashi. Angry at himself for being obsessed with the jounin, Iruka tore the sketch up and burned it with relish.

**21 days later**

It was exactly three weeks since he last saw Kakashi. Iruka summoned the courage to ask Tsunade where Kakashi had gone. Tsunade looked at him with piercing eyes and said she didn't know. Kakashi had just said he needed to take a break and Tsunade had given Kakashi a one month's holiday. In truth, she said, Kakashi had resembled a zombie when she had last seen him and she felt he deserved to rest. Iruka left Tsunade's office with a heavy heart, burdened by the knowledge that he might have been the one to put the haunted expression onto Kakashi's face.

**22 days later**

Iruka acknowledged that he still loved Kakashi and he also realized that he would love Kakashi till the day he died. If Kakashi were to return now, Iruka promised himself that he would never let the jounin go again. Iruka felt that this self-realization was cause for celebration and so after classes he went to the bar and ordered a bottle of sake for himself. 5 hours later, Kurenai found him terribly drunk brought him back home. Iruka vomitted all over her, much to his chagrin and he offered her his bathroom and clothes to clean up. Kurenai stepped out of the bathroom only to find Iruka crying all over his sofa, wetting the cushions with his tears. Iruka found himself wrapped in Kurenai's arms and he clung to her like a kid as he sobbed. "I love you. Where are you... Don't ignore me anymore. Don't leave me alone anymore... come back and hold me please..."

**25 days later**

Kurenai appeared at his doorstep with a look of determination in her eyes. She gave Iruka a tight slap and admonished him sternly for moping and giving in to self-pity. Dragging Iruka to the bathroom, she doused water over Iruka's head and made him take a good look at himself in the mirror. Drenched in cold water, Iruka saw himself for the first time in 3 days. He looked awful. No wonder Kakashi stayed away from him.

**1 month later**

Iruka closed his book and announced the end of the lessons. He waved goodbye cheerily as his students spilled out of the classroom. Clutching his books in his hands, Iruka walked briskly to his desk. He had alot of missions to sort and file today. It was already dinner time and his stomach growled in protest. However, there was work to be done and Iruka had procrastinated long enough.

It was near midnight and Iruka was sorting through the S-class missions when he came across a newly filed report. It was the mission concerning Kakashi's Sharingan. Iruka's heart gave a lurch. _It had been one month since I've seen him. _Yet Iruka could conjure the image of Kakashi in his mind as easily as if he had just seen him yesterday.

Iruka looked up from his file and blinked. He stared and blinked again, hard. There, standing across the room with his hands across his chest was Kakashi himself. Iruka rubbed his eyes. He was probably too tired and was seeing things.

"Hello." The Kakashi figure walked over to Iruka's desk.

_He's real. _

Iruka drank in the sight of Kakashi greedily. It had been one long and cruel month since he saw Kakashi and he took in the extra lines on Kakashi's face and the wariness in his eye.

"Where have you been?" Iruka asked, somewhat accusingly.

Kakashi stared hard at Iruka. And then his lips twisted in a half-mocking smile. "Why, doing what you told me to. To get out of your sight, your life."

Iruka cringed at the sarcasm dripping from Kakashi's voice. _I deserve it... _"How have you been?" Iruka asked softly.

Kakashi grabbed a chair and sat down facing Iruka, his elbows propped on the table. "Oh, not too good." He said casually. "I know you said to get out and for us to forget each other and even though I definitely have accomplished the first, I'm afraid I'm not having too much progress with the latter."

Kakashi looked hard in Iruka's eyes. "Truth is, I can't forget you. You said I wasn't capable of love but if what I'm feeling isn't love then I think I'm down with some disease or something. Don't worry. I'm not here to disturb your peace or anything. I just had a desperate urge to see your face and now I'll be gone." Kakashi stood up abruptly and pushed the chair away.

"Bye."

"Kakashi wait!" Iruka cried out. He jumped across his table and placed himself in front of Kakashi.

Iruka stood before Kakashi. He had a million things to say. He wanted to say how sorry he was to chase Kakashi away. He wanted to say he had missed Kakashi desperately. He wanted to tell Kakashi that he loved him, not just the lover in his bed, but the man who calls himself Hatake Kakashi. But standing in front of the man he had dreamed about for the past month, Iruka was tongue-tied.

"You haven't asked how I have been." He said finally.

Kakashi's expression was wary as he looked at Iruka. "Alright... so... how have you been?"

"Bad." Iruka bit out. "I've been missing you the moment I asked you to leave one month ago. And I've missed you for an entire month. I realize now that I've said many foolish and wrong things. I... I..." Iruka stopped, unsure of what to say.

"I should go." Kakashi said, as if he hadn't heard what Iruka had said, as if what Iruka had said didn't matter to him.

"No! Kakashi, please don't go. I still love you, I still love you very very much and I don't think I can ever stop loving you. Please, if you still love me, don't go." Iruka pleaded.

Kakashi looked at the tears that had filled Iruka's eyes. He had tried valiantly in the past month to forget Iruka but he had been unable to accomplish that. Tonight, when he had returned to Konoha, his feet had impulsively taken him to Iruka's office where he knew the chuunin would be around. He just wanted to take one look at Iruka and then he would be gone. But what Iruka had said just now...

Kakashi lifted his hand to wipe away the tear that had rolled down Iruka's face. "Do you really mean what you say?"

Iruka nodded. "This time I do, with all my heart I do."

Kakashi hesitated for a mere second before abandoning his composure. He crushed Iruka into his arms. "Oh Ruka, I've missed you so." His voice thick with emotion as he whispered in Iruka's ear. "I've missed you too." Iruka murmured into Kakashi's neck as the jounin held him like he would never let go.

Iruka and Kakashi stood with their arms wrapped tightly around each other for a long time. They had almost lost each other and both were afraid to let the other go again.

"I'm sorry for the hurt I've caused you. Kakashi, will you forgive me?" Iruka said regretfully.

"Of course, Ruka-chan. Will you forgive me too?"

"I've forgiven you long ago." Iruka's quiet admission touched Kakashi's heart.

Kakashi drew back and looked down at the chuunin, the Iruka he loved so much. Iruka's lips were parted and his face was tear streaked. But Kakashi thought Iruka had never looked more beautiful. Kakashi stared at Iruka's parted mouth. _It had been so damn long... _Kakashi's eyes grew dark with desire and his hand reached up to remove the mask from his face. Then, he slowly lowered his lips to Iruka's.

Iruka saw the moment Kakashi's tender gaze lighted up with passion. His breath caught as he looked up at his lover's beautifully sculpted face. His lips parted invitingly as Kakashi's mouth covered his.

The soft chaste kiss quickly burned into a passionate one and Iruka was left trembling in Kakashi's arms. It wasn't enough, Iruka wanted more. Sliding his hands beneath Kakashi's shirt, Iruka trailed a line of kisses down Kakashi's throat.

And he felt Kakashi stiffened under him.

"No..." A harsh note tore from Kakashi's lips. "No... stop... please stop..."

Kakashi pushed Iruka away and turned around, head bowed as memories of his betrayal flooded his mind.

"Kakashi... what's wrong?" Hurt by Kakashi's actions, Iruka stood helplessly by the side.

Kakashi dragged a ragged breath from the air and braced himself for the confrontation. "One month ago, when I was caught, Kabuto came into my cell one night. Except he wasn't Kabuto. He was you, Ruka-chan. And I didn't know he was Kabuto, I thought it was Ruka-chan who had come to save me. Hell, I didn't even know I was awake. I thought it was all a dream. And then Ruka-chan, no Kabuto he... we... we had sex that night.."

Kakashi paused as he finally dragged the confession out. "I swear I didn't know it was him until I woke up and wondered how that wonderful dream had come about and then I looked and it was Kabuto and then everything turned into one hell of a nightmare." Kakashi rambled. "I'm sorry I betrayed you, I don't deserve you, I..." Kakashi broke off. His heart felt heavy. Iruka must hate him now. Kakashi couldn't bear to turn around to look at Iruka, for fear of the condemnation and disgust he would see in Iruka's eyes. Kakashi's heart sank with the realization that he was going to lose Iruka again.

"Kakashi..." Iruka placed a hand on Kakashi's shoulder and turned him around. He held Kakashi's chin and lifted it until the jounin was once again looking in his eyes. Caressing Kakashi's jaw, Iruka spoke "I know you don't mean it. I don't deny I'm angry and I don't like it one little bit, but I also know it is not your fault. Don't turn me away again Kakashi, let me share your burdens. Besides, I've already told you I forgive you and I love you and that's all that matters."

Awe and amazement shone in Kakashi's eyes. He couldn't believe that this perfect compassionate chuunin loved him and didn't hold it against him. Touched by Iruka's words, Kakashi placed a kiss on Iruka's forehead. "I'm never going to lose you again."

Iruka smiled, "And you're never going to get rid of me. Let me stay with you forever."

Kakashi's eyebrows furrowed. "You should know that I'm a dangerous shinobi and I've got missions to complete and I may lose my li..."

Kakashi's words were cut off as Iruka captured Kakashi's mouth with his, kissing the older man fervently and passionately.

"You talk too much." Iruka said when he finally broke the kiss. "I'll rather take the risk of losing you then to lose you for good. Besides... I'm too stubborn to let you die easily."

"Oh Ruka..." Kakashi sighed contentedly as Iruka snuggled closer to him. His pulse quickened as he felt Iruka's roaming hands caressing the sensitive spots of his body. He adjusted the two of them so that Iruka sat perched on his desk while Kakashi stood between Iruka's wantonly spread legs. Kakashi lifted his face just as Iruka lowered his mouth to meet Kakashi. Their mouths fused together in a hungry kiss. Kakashi thrust his tongue into Iruka's warm wet mouth and took delight in Iruka's soft moan. Iruka clung to him as Kakashi licked, teethed and made love to Iruka's mouth.

Suddenly, the clothes between them were too great a barrier. Not caring that they were in Iruka's office with the lights still brightly on, they removed each other's clothes in double quick time. Bare skin slid across bare skin and pleasure shook through their very bones as they found release in each other's arms.

* * *

Later that night when Kakashi and Iruka were snuggled together on Iruka's bed and they were both basking in the afterglow of their lovemaking, Kakashi asked the same question Iruka had asked many nights ago. "Ruka-chan... why did you choose me? How could you fall in love with me? I was so cold and arrogant. I chased off anyone who could get close to me. What did you see in me?" 

Iruka twisted in Kakashi's arms until he was facing Kakashi and then he said solemnly. "Because you need me to show you that you're capable of loving and I need you to show me that I'm capable of protecting the people I love."

Kakashi stared at Iruka, stunned by Iruka's wise words. Iruka frowned at Kakashi's shocked expression. "Did I say anything wrong?"

Kakashi shook his head. "No... you are too uncannily right. How did you become so smart anyway?" Kakashi asked as he lightly traced Iruka's back.

"Well... I chose you didn't I?" Iruka grinned. He sighed with pleasure as Kakashi massaged the knots in Iruka's back. With regret, he stilled Kakashi's roaming hands, "No more... Let's go to sleep. I've got school tomorrow and I won't have students accusing me of being a bad teacher because I've been rolling around with a certain disreputable jounin." Iruka remarked.

"_Rolling_?" Kakashi asked incredulously, amused at Iruka's choice of words.

Iruka blushed. In the dark, Kakashi could feel the heat from Iruka's cheeks. Chuckling softly, he slid his hands over Iruka's bottom and pulled the chuunin on his aroused body. "Hm... so could I persuade you to do more um... _rolling_"

Iruka gasped as Kakashi found a particularly sensitive spot. "Kakashi..." His retort came out as a plea instead. It looked like Iruka wouldn't be getting much sleep at all.

---

The next day, Kakashi accompanied a yawning Iruka to work, grinning happily as Iruka scolded Kakashi for keeping him awake all night.

At the academy, they bumped into Tsunade who took one look at Iruka and exclaimed loudly, "Why Iruka! You have the most awful eye bags. What were you doing last night?"

Iruka blushed darkly while Kakashi said in all seriousness. "Nothing Godaime-sama, Iruka was just dong a bit of rolling."

Iruka gave a strangled cough and dragged Kakashi away quickly, muttering something about stupid jounin and being late for class. Tsunade stared at their retreating backs and scratched her head in confusion. _Rolling? Now what the hell is that supposed to mean?_

Tsunade shrugged her shoulders. _Whatever, it doesn't matter. _She was just glad that the two love birds had finally come to their senses and realized what everyone else had known all along.

They were made for each other.

* * *

That's the end! 

I'm a little sad that this story has finally ended. After all, it has accompanied me for almost two years. There were times when I've despaired over finishing it but I'm glad that I picked myself up and continued the story. For the sake of everyone who read my story and for myself too because I know what it is like to read a story that doesn't end.

Oh well, sometimes something that looks very much like an end is actually just the beginning of something new. Although because of work it will be quite some time before I write something else again.

I really hope you like the story "**Caring for you**" and please review and tell me what you think.

Once again, thank you for all your wonderful reviews. I really do appreciate them greatly.

**_owari  
_****_vanyelashke89_**


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